


Bullseye

by Rehearsal_Dweller



Series: Near Miss AU [8]
Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: M/M, Modern AU, Parent David Jacobs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-06-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:48:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24154576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rehearsal_Dweller/pseuds/Rehearsal_Dweller
Summary: After probably hundreds of near misses, Jack Kelly met David Jacobs.And after dating for a while, Jack Kelly proposed.
Relationships: David Jacobs & Les Jacobs, David Jacobs/Jack Kelly, Les Jacobs & Jack Kelly, Racetrack Higgins & David Jacobs, Sarah Jacobs/Katherine Plumber Pulitzer, Spot Conlon & David Jacobs, Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins
Series: Near Miss AU [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1735408
Comments: 236
Kudos: 133





	1. The Engagement

**Author's Note:**

> Near Miss sequel time! By popular demand :) I don't know how long this is going to be, it's sketched out but not fully outlined yet. This picks up immediately (and I do mean immediately) after Near Miss's epilogue.
> 
> BUT THAT'S NOT ALL. BULLSEYE IS MY 150th FIC ON AO3! We're havin' a virtual party on my tumblr for as long as this fic is in progress so swing by and wonder where the time's gone with me over there, where I'm agentsnickers!

Jack throws the door open. “We have news!”

Spot looks up from the game of Candyland the Higgins-Conlons are playing. “That so?”

“We’re engaged,” says Davey, walking in behind Jack hand-in-hand with Leah.

“You’re _what?”_ Race says. He stands up, crossing the room in four long steps.

“Engaged!” Jack repeats. “Go on, Davey, show ‘em the ring.”

Before Davey can do anything one way or the other, Race has grabbed his left hand and held it up to his face. The ring’s not too flashy, but it has a small square sapphire set into it that Race twists around to catch in the light.

“S’pretty,” Race says, nodding. “Leah-bee, what do you think’a your Daddy getting married?”

“It’s excitin’,” Leah replies. She bounces up on her toes, then darts around Race to drop to her knees next to Frankie. “Frankieeee! I’m gonna have _two_ dads!”

“Uncle Jack’s gonna be your _dad_?” says Frankie, blinking up at Jack and Davey with his head tipped to one side. “But he’s an uncle?”

“People can be both, buddy,” Spot says, ruffling his son’s hair. “You know what, though, kiddos?”

“What?” the two six-year-olds say in unison.

“If Jack and David get married, that makes you two cousins,” says Spot.

Frankie and Leah throw their arms around each other. “ _Cousins!”_

“If?” Jack says, his tone playfully offended.

Spot comes over and gives his brother a half hug – a rarity. “I’m teasing, Cowboy.”

“Sure ya are,” says Jack.

“You take good care’a our boy, okay?” Spot says in a low voice. “You got somethin’ precious there.”

“Don’t I know it,” Jack replies. “I ain’t givin’ him up for anything.”

“I never would’a pinned you for fatherhood, Jacky-boy,” says Spot, glancing back at the kids. “But I’d be lyin’ if I said it doesn’t suit you. Lee’s a lucky gal, gettin’ you for a stepdad.”

“I think that might be the nicest thing you’ve said to me in the last ten years,” Jack says, smiling.

Spot steps away with a light punch to his shoulder. “For the next ten, too, dumbass.”

There’s a small sniffle next to them, and Jack turns. He hasn’t been tuned into Race and Davey’s conversation, so he’s a little surprised to see that they’re both a little teary. Race has his forearms resting against Davey’s shoulders, hands cradling his face.

“Thanks, bud,” Davey says, while Race sweeps a tear from his cheek. “That means a lot.”

“I mean it,” Race replies.

“I know.”

“I love you, Daves,” says Race.

“Love you too, Tones,” Davey replies.

They hug, and then Race steps back and throws his arms around Jack instead. “I love you, Jacky, I’m so happy for you!”

“Thanks, Racer,” Jack replies.

“We oughtta get home and start callin’ people,” says Davey. “We wanted to let you guys know first, though.”

“’Preciate it,” says Spot. He claps Davey on the shoulder. “All the best, Daves.”

“Bee, we’re headin’ home,” says Jack. He waves for Leah to come back to him and Davey. She does, and Jack scoops her up with one arm.

They head across the hall to Davey’s place. “What were you and Race talkin’ about?”

Davey smiles softly. “Sean and Tony have seen me through a lot. He’s really happy to see how happy I am with you.”

“I’m happy to see you’re happy, too,” says Jack. He puts his free arm around Davey’s waist and pulls him in close.

“Les! We’re home!” Davey calls as they go into the apartment.

“Took you guys long enough,” says Les. “We still havin’ movie night?”

“Actually, no,” says Davey. He crosses the room to join Les in the kitchen. He taps the fingers of his left hand against the counter.

“How come?” Les asks, frowning. “You usually don’t have a problem with lettin’ Lee stay up for – holy _shit_ , Dave!” He claps a hand over his mouth. “Whoops, sorry. I just mean – oh my god.”

Davey laughs. “No, it’s fine. Bean, don’t repeat anything Uncle Les says.”

“I know, I know,” says Leah. Jack chuckles.

“Jack, you proposed?” Les says, grinning. “Congrats, guys!”

“Thanks, man,” Jack replies.

“You told anybody yet?”

“Just the boys,” says Davey, jerking his head toward the Higgins-Conlons’ place.

“Well get on callin’ Mom and Dad,” says Les. “They’ll wanna know ay-sap.”

Davey nods. “You betcha.”

Jack sets Leah on the ground and snags Davey’s arm. “Hey, love, can I get a pic of you wearin’ the ring to send to the crew?”

Davey strikes a slightly silly pose, showing off the ring, and Jack takes a picture.

_JACK’S EXES CLUB_

_Me: GUESS WHO JUST FUCKIN PROPOSED_

_Me: [PHOTO]_

The responses start rolling in almost immediately.

_Crutchie <3: hell yeah!!! Congrats!!_

_Elmer: Congrats man!_

_Albert: He said yes right_

_Albert: we ain’t just congratulating you for asking_

_Racetrack: yeah he said yes_

_Romeo: he’s got the RING ON dumbass_

_Albert: you never know with Jack_

_Me: you know, fair._

_Sarah J: holy SHIT I’m calling dave rn!!_

_Katydid: we’re bringing celebratory brunch over tomorrow get READY_

_Katydid: everyone’s invited_

_Me: Everyone is NOT invited_

_Specs: oh hey congrats dude! Guess he won’t be joining the exes club after all!_

_Me: we’ll get everybody together next weekend give us like one day for the love of god_

_Katydid: Race and Spot are invited_

_Me: acceptable_

_Spotty boy: cowboy have you even called ma yet_

_Me: I’m about to_

_Crutchie <3: CALL YOUR GODDAMN MOTHER_

_Finch: congratulations jack he’s a catch_

_Me: don’t I know it_

_Spotty boy: jack get outta the groupchat and call ma or I will_

_Me: yeah I’m goin_

“Davey I’m being threatened,” Jack says out loud.

“What?” says Davey, his brow furrowing as he holds his phone away from his face. “No, Ra, not you. What, Jack?”

“Spot’s threatening me, I’m gonna call my mother,” Jack says.

Davey laughs. “Yeah, do that. If you want I’ll jump on with you when I’m done with Sarah.” He pauses, listening to his sister. “She says congratulations and call Medda.”

“Yeah, I’m doin’ it!” Jack takes a few steps away from Davey to make his call. Medda picks up on the third ring.

“Hey, sweetheart,” she says. “What’s up? I thought Fridays were movie nights.”

“Usually,” Jack replies. “Not tonight, though. We got some news for ya, Mama.”

“Nothing bad, I hope,” says Medda.

“No!” says Jack. “No, not at all. I proposed to Davey tonight; we’re getting married.”

“Really?” Medda says, sounding unfairly shocked.

“Yes, really!” Jack replies. Davey laughs as he ends his call with Sarah. “You don’t need to sound so surprised, Ma!”

“I knew you two were serious, honey, I just didn’t think _you’d_ do the asking,” says Medda, laughing. “That man of yours is a much better planner than you.”

Jack laughs at that, despite himself. “You give him way too much credit.”

“Hey, I can _hear_ you insulting me, Jackie,” Davey says. He tugs Jack to the couch and they curl up together like they would if they were actually watching a movie. “Put her on speaker?”

“Ma, I’m putting you on speaker,” Jack says, doing just that. “Davey, say hi to Ma.”

“Hi, Medda,” Davey says.

“Davey, honey! Congratulations!”

“Thanks, Medda.”

“You two should come out next weekend,” Medda says. “Bring your brothers and the kids, we can have a little party.”

“That sounds like fun, Ma,” says Jack.

Leah climbs onto the couch with them, wiggling her way in between Jack and her father. “Hi, Medda!”

“Hello, Leah!” Medda replies. “I hear your dad’s getting married!”

“Yeah!” says Leah, grinning and nestling in a little more with Jack and Davey. “I’m’unna have two whole dads and Frankie’n I’re gonna be _cousins_!”

Medda laughs. “That sounds exciting.”

“It’s _so_ exciting,” says Leah.

“Well I’m happy for the three of you,” says Medda, and Jack can just about hear the grin on her face. “I’ll let you go, though, I’m sure you’ve got lots of calls to make.”

“We do,” says Jack. “Thanks, Mama. Love you!”

“I love you all,” Medda says. “Goodbye!”

“Bye!”

Jack hangs up. He steals a quick kiss from Davey.

“We should call my parents,” says Davey.

Jack nods. “Yeah, you wanna facetime’em? I know your ma prefers that.”

“Yeah, sounds good.” Davey pulls his own phone back out of his pocket, and starts to swipe through to bring up his parents.

“Hey, wait, ‘fore you call,” says Les, coming into the living room with a tray. “I know it’s not exactly champagne, but we don’t have grownup drinks in this house, so we’re celebrating with hot chocolate.”

Jack and Davey laugh. They each accept their offered mugs of cocoa, and Leah scoots forward to the edge of the couch so she can reach the coffee table, which Jack hooks his foot under to pull it slightly closer for her.

“Thanks, Jack,” Leah says, visibly concentrating on setting her cocoa down without splashing any.

“No prob, baby,” Jack replies. Davey shifts next to him, beaming at Jack.

“Okay, okay, hot chocolate toast!” Les says, holding his own mug up. The others mimic him, all grinning. “Jack and Davey, I wish you all the best in this marriage. I just want you both to remember that I thought this was going to work before Sarah _or_ Sean did, whenever you start thinking about groomsmen.” He winks. “But in all seriousness, I love you guys. I’m happy for you. Drink your hot chocolate.”

Jack laughs, and Davey pretends to wipe away tears. He pats his brother’s arm. “Les, bro, I love you so much.”

“I know.”

Jack elbows Davey. “Call ya parents.”

“Mm, right,” says Davey. He swipes through his phone and pulls up facetime, calling his mom.

Davey’s parents answer almost immediately. “David! We weren’t expecting to hear from you tonight.”

“Gramma!” Leah says. She sets her hot chocolate carefully on the table and worms her way back between Jack and Davey. “Hi Gramma!”

“Hi, sweetpea,” Esther says. “Grampa’s here, too. Mayer, come get in the picture.”

Davey’s father leans into the frame. They’re both cut off, because they’re holding the phone vertically, but that’s nothing new. You’d think that by now they’d have figured out how to frame a facetime call, but Jack has a tendency to forget he’s in picture and let his phone slip so it’s pointed at the ceiling, so who is he to judge, really.

“Hi Grampa!”

“Hey, kiddo.” Mayer looks at Davey. “What’s up, Dave? This is a little later than you usually call. Isn’t it movie night?”

“We just have a little bit of news to share,” says Davey, grinning. He holds his hand up, wiggling his fingers so the ring catches the light.

“Is that –“ Esther starts.

“They’re gettin’ _married_ ,” Leah says seriously.

“Really?” asks Mayer.

Esther elbows him almost out of frame. “ _Mayer_.”

“He’s said for years he wouldn’t!”

“A lot of things have changed since then, Dad,” Davey says. His cheeks are faintly pink, though, and he’s avoiding Jack’s eye.

“But you’re getting married?” Mayer says. “ _You_?”

“Yes, Dad, me!” says Davey. He pointedly wraps an arm around Jack’s shoulders, dragging him closer. “To Jack, who can _hear you_.”

Mayer grimaces for a moment. “Right, I’m sorry. I’m very happy for you both, I’m just a little surprised.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Davey says. His mouth presses into a tense smile, which Jack only sees in the facetime thumbnail for an instant because it’s been forced into something a little more genuine by the time Jack turns to look at him.

“Congratulations, boys,” Esther says.

“Thank you, Esther,” says Jack.

The call doesn’t last much longer, and they make a few more while Leah finishes her cocoa before Davey declares it bedtime.

“Aw, but Daddy, I wanna stay up!” Leah whines.

“I know, Bee, but’cha gotta go to bed,” replies Davey. He picks her up easily despite her squirming. “C’mon, if you get your jammas on and brush your teeth quick I bet Jack’ll tell you a story.”

Jack nods. He’d probably tell Leah a story even if she dragged her feet and complained the whole time, because he’s a pushover like that, but he’s not telling _her_ that.

Davey carries Leah to her room, only setting her down so he can dig out a set of pajamas and have their nightly argument over which characters she wanted.

“I don’t even _like_ Elsa,” says Leah, crossing her arms.

“The rousing rendition of Let It Go I got earlier begs to differ,” Jack says, leaning against her bedroom’s doorframe.

“I like Elsa’s _songs_ , Jack, I don’t like _Elsa_ ,” Leah corrects, in her six-year-old impression of her father’s _this is obvious and you are stupid_ tone.

Jack laughs. “Right, of course.”

“Leah, how about Rapunzel?” Davey suggests, holding up a purple nightgown. “We’re pro-Tangled right now, right?”

“Wha’ssat even mean, Daddy?”

“Do you want Rapunzel or not?”

“Uh, yeah.”

\--

When David finishes his nightly battle of wills with his daughter, he trails Jack back out to the living room, where they find Les setting up his bed.

“I know it’s not that late, but I got stuff in the morning,” Les says. “Sorry, I’m sure you guys wanna keep callin’ people.”

“Nah,” Jack says, waving Les off. “We got our parents, and I texted the guys. Don’t worry about us; you just get enough sleep for whatever the hell it is you do at 8am on Saturdays.”

“Kickball, Jack,” Les says, shaking his head. “Kickball.”

“Kickball,” Jack repeats, laughing.

“With his school friends,” David clarifies. “Why they meet at dawn on weekends is beyond me –“

“It’s not dawn,” says Les.

“If you say so,” says David. He tangles his fingers with Jack’s. “We’ll leave you to sleep, Les. Jack, you staying tonight?”

Jack nods. “If you’ll have me.”

“Always,” says David.

Les screws up his face in theatrical disgust. “Well keep it down, okay?”

David laughs. “Good _night_ , Les.”

He and Jack retire to David’s room, and David tosses Jack a pair of his own pajama pants. It really isn’t that late, all told, but all David wants to do is curl up in bed with Jack. His _fiancé_.

So he does.

“Sorry about my dad,” David says once they’re settled in, his head resting on Jack’s shoulder. “That must’ve been weird for you.”

“No, it’s fine,” Jack replies. He plays with David’s hair, aimlessly twisting the curls around his fingertips. “I’ve never heard that you were so anti-marriage though.”

David lets out a small, breathy laugh. “Yeah, it’s – so, like, when Lee was little –“

“She ain’t exactly big now.”

“Shut up. When Lee was a _baby_ , people were always trying to set me up, all 'oh so Leah can have two parents and you're not alone forever,'” says David. “Like that’s not the weirdest fucking time in somebody’s life to set them up.”

“Yeah, not really ideal,” Jack replies.

“There has never been an ideal time in my life to get set up,” David says. He wiggles up the mattress a little to settle a little tighter against Jack. “Anyway, the only way I could make it stop was by being _very_ vocal about my contentedness with being single, and my certainty I wasn’t ever going to marry anybody.”

He pauses for a moment, then pushes up on his elbow to look Jack in the face.

“And then I met you, all by myself.”

“All by yourself, eh?”

“Yeah,” says David. “Nobody tried to set me up with you; like four people tried to warn me _away_ from you. I got to figure it out on my own terms and you rolled with it.”

“Well, yeah,” Jack replies, with a shoulder motion that would probably have been a shrug if he weren’t lying down and wrapped around David. “A’course I rolled with it. You’re worth stickin’ it out for.”

“You rolled with a _lot_ , Jack. Don’t think I don’t know how lucky I am that you didn’t go running for the hills when you found out about –“ he cuts himself off, dropping his weight back onto the mattress and Jack’s torso. “When you found out.”

“It would’ve been pretty shitty of me to go runnin’ on you for not tellin’ me something you haven’t even told your family when we’d only been dating a few months,” Jack says.

David sighs. “Still. I’m lucky I found you, and even though I swore left and right for five years I was never going to get married, I am _beyond_ excited to marry you.”

“Well that’s lucky,” says Jack, pressing a gentle kiss to David’s forehead. “Because I’m pretty damned excited to marry you, too.”

\--

David has woken up next to Jack before, but it has yet to stop making his heart flutter. David isn’t an especially clingy sleeper and neither is Jack, so while they’ll often fall asleep a tangle of limbs, more often he wakes up a few inches away from Jack, fully separated with limbs just touching.

This is how he wakes up the morning after Jack proposed. He’s distantly aware that the thing that woke him is his little brother clattering around the kitchen, but mostly just lets himself focus on how comfortable his bed is and how beautiful the man lying next to him is. David is no artist – especially not when compared to Jack – but lying here in the early morning light creeping in through his window, he wishes he were. He wishes he could capture Jack’s contented sleepy smile, the way the light (diffused and pinky-gold, coming in through the gap between buildings and David’s bedroom curtains) falls across his cheekbones, the quiet calm of the moment.

He’s just had that thought, and is enjoying that calm, when the bedroom door bangs open. David lets his head fall against his pillow with a small laugh.

Leah takes a few running steps into the room, and that’s all the warning David has before his six-year-old has launched herself onto the bed.

“Daddy!” she says, full volume, “Jack!”

Jack groans. “Fi’more minutes.”

“No, Jack, you gotta get _up_ ,” says Leah, throwing her weight across him for emphasis. “Aunt Sar and Aunt Kate are here! They brought breakfast!”

“You heard’er, honey, they brought breakfast,” David says, laughing.

Jack shoves blindly at him. “ _You_ go see’em then.”

“I will,” says David. He slips out of bed and lifts Leah off of Jack. “Come on, Leah-beah, let’s leave Jack to sleep in alone.”

“Now m’cold,” whines Jack, rolling into the spot David just vacated.

“Wrap up in a blanket and we’ll make sure there’s coffee for you when you finally grace us with your presence,” David says. “Don’t make me and Leah fend for ourselves out there too long.”

And with that, he carries Leah back out into the main space of the apartment. Sure enough, Sarah and Katherine are there, laying pastries out on plates at the table. He sets Leah down and she runs over to claim a cinnamon roll.

“David!” Sarah says, rushing over to pull her twin into a hug. “Congratulations, bro, I’m so happy for you.”

“Thanks, Ra,” David says. He kisses her cheek as she releases him. “Glad you came around to us eventually.”

“Pssh, if I’d known last year you were gonna be able to make an honest man of Jack Kelly, I’d never have doubted you were a good match,” says Sarah. “Let me see the ring!”

David lets her pull his hand into her own, twisting it around so she can see it catch the light.

“It’s gorgeous,” Katherine says, walking over to stand next to her wife.

“Thanks,” Jack says sleepily. He’s followed David and Leah out of the bedroom, and is wearing one of David’s blankets as a cape.

David laughs, shaking his head. “You look ridiculous, babe.”

“I’m cold,” says Jack. David rolls his eyes.

Jack lets Sarah pull him into his own hug, leaving David alone with Katherine.

“I’m really happy for you, Day,” Katherine says, and the little bit of David that is still 21 and brokenhearted hums contentedly at her slightly wistful smile. “You deserve to be happy.”

“Thanks, Katie,” says David. On impulse, he drags Katherine into a hug. After all this time, they still fit together like the most natural thing in the world.

David isn’t sure how he’d feel about getting married if Kate weren’t still in his life; he has a sneaking suspicion that he’d still be just a little bit hung up on her, either because he was still in love with her despite himself or because the heartache would’ve kept him from getting involved with anyone else. As it stands, there’s been a lot more solid closure for them in the four years she’d been with Sarah, and seeing her happy and in love with someone else helped him keep his head on straight when someone finally came along for _him_.

The heartache was still there, of course, but survivable.

(The heartache had nearly cost David his relationship with Jack _anyway_ , but he wonders sometimes how much worse all of that could’ve gone for him if he’d never resolved things with Kate.)

David steps away from Katherine, letting out a slow breath. He smiles at her, genuinely, and the rest of his life fades back in.

Jack and Sarah are standing to his right, watching him and Kath with twin looks of mixed confusion and sadness. David wonders what they’re seeing in this moment – it’s not unreasonable to guess that they both have some story spun out in their heads of exactly what Katherine and David are to each other in the present day, but he’s almost sure it’s not complicated enough. Still, he’s glad that they know, now, even though he’d never have admitted that aloud. Katherine and David have been doing a careful balancing act for years – familiar but not too close, caring but not too deep – and now at least with their significant others they have room to let their guard down and _be_ complicated and fragile without it getting questioned.

He’s never going to have an easy relationship with his sister’s wife, but he’s been pretending to for a long time. It feels kind of nice to let the pretense drop.

“Uh, Daddy?” Leah’s voice cuts in, breaking the odd moment between the four adults.

“What’s up, baby?” David replies, moving past Katherine to see what his daughter is up to.

“I need help,” Leah says. There is cinnamon roll icing everywhere. It’s all over her plate, her cinnamon roll, her placemat, her face, her arms, and her pajamas.

David laughs. “Oh, yes you do. What _happened_?”


	2. The Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me a little longer than I'd hoped, sorry for the delay! I probably would've had it up yesterday, but the Percy Jackson show was announced and then I lost power for two and a half hours because somebody's balloon hit a power line, I guess, so it wasn't exactly a productive afternoon.  
> But here it is! Featuring a visit to Medda's and the fact that Near Miss is not set in New York!

“I’m claiming your brother for my side of the wedding party,” Davey says absently, without looking up from his book.

“Yeah, you know what, that’s fair,” says Jack. He nudges Davey with his toe. “You want Racer, too?”

Davey bites his lip for a moment. “Not – not if you do.”

Jack shrugs. “Darlin’, they’re your best friends in the world. F’you wann’em both up there with you, they’re yours for the asking. I’ll ask Kath and Crutchie, eh?”

“You sure?”

“A’course I’m sure,” says Jack. He nudges Davey again. “Lord knows Spot wouldn’t wanna be on my side at your weddin’ anyway. He likes you better’n me.”

Davey laughs. “ _That’s_ not true. He’s just gentler with me, ‘cause you’re sturdy.”

“ _Sturdy?_ ” Jack repeats, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t know,” says Davey. He sets his book on the table, sitting up to look at Jack. “You and Spot give each other a lot of shit because you can hold up to it.” He shrugs. “Sturdy.”

Jack laughs. “I guess. I dunno anybody who’d say _you_ were fragile, though.”

“Sean’s seen me at my worst,” Davey says, with a slightly embarrassed grimace. “More times than I care to admit. If anybody knows how fragile I am, it’s those two.”

Jack frowns. He knows Spot and Race have seen Davey fall apart – there’s a care in the way they handle him that Jack used to only see with Frankie, and even then it wasn’t an _always_ thing – but he can’t help but wonder _why_. Besides the obvious, of course. The Davey Jack knows is so steady and certain, it’s hard to imagine him needing to be handled with kid gloves.

Davey kicks him. “Hey, it’s time to pick up the kids.”

“God, already?” says Jack, checking his watch. “Aw, man, time flies when there are no kids around.”

“Welcome to parenting, Jack,” Davey says, deadpan. “You’ll never have time to think again.”

Jack laughs. “Are we picking up Les before or after Race and the kiddos?”

“Neither,” says Davey. “Sean’s bringing Les, remember?”

“Right,” Jack says. He turns toward the bedrooms. “Crutchie, are you ready to go?”

“In a minute,” Crutchie calls back.

“Get a move on, we gotta go get the kids,” says Jack.

“Keep your shirt on, Cowboy,” Crutchie says, coming out of his room. “Thirty seconds ain’t gonna kill ya.”

Davey laughs. “Might kill Tony, you know how impatient he is.”

“S’a good thing I’m ready to go then, ain’t it?” says Crutchie.

Race and the kids are waiting outside the studio when Jack pulls up, and the three of them pile into the back with Davey. There’s a minute or two of chaos in the back seats as the kids get settled in car seats and then the adults get themselves buckled in, and then they’re on the road to Medda’s.

“How was dance, guys?” Crutchie asks, twisting around to look at the kids.

“It was _so_ fun,” says Leah, kicking her feet a little in excitement.

“Yeah!” Frankie agrees. “Daddy’s glasses flew off and hit the mirror!”

“Oh, did they now?” says Jack, laughing.

“They did,” Race says, sounding slightly defeated. “And kids, who are we _not_ telling this super fun story to?”

Frankie says, “Poppa,” and Leah says “Sean,” at exactly the same time.

“Race, _why_ are we not telling your husband about you losing your glasses in class?” Crutchie asks, his tone teasing.

Race groans. “Ugh, so like, I’m outta contacts, right?”

“I figured,” Crutchie says.

“Well, a couple’a weeks ago I was _almost_ outta contacts, and Spot looks at me an’ says – and I’m quoting here – ‘Sweetness, you better order contacts now, or you’re gonna forget and then you’re gonna have to teach with your glasses on and they’ll fly off,’” Race says, ending with a theatrical sigh. “And I just don’t think I can take that _I told you so_ today.”

Jack laughs so hard it’s a little difficult to focus on the road.

“Tony, no offense, but you totally deserve it,” says Davey. His voice is remarkably steady.

“I know!” wails Race. “That don’t mean I want to hear it!”

“That’s actually funnier than the situation today,” Jack says.

“This is married life, Jack!” Race says dramatically. “ _This_ is what you’re looking at for the rest of your life – he’s just gonna be _right_ about dumb stuff you do that you wish he wasn’t right about.”

“Hey, how come you don’t think _I’ll_ be doing that to him?” Jack replies, mock offended.

“Pshh.” Race leans forward and smacks the back of Jack’s seat with something. Distantly, Jack wonders if he’s wearing his seatbelt. “I am self aware enough to know which one of you is the Racetrack in the relationship.”

Crutchie laughs himself to tears.

\--

Medda’s house is practically built for pure chaos. It’s a big, beautiful house in the north suburbs, with plenty of wide open space in the main level and basement for teenaged nonsense, plus a huge back yard with a treehouse Jack and Spot built for Smalls when she first moved in. She’s always saying it’s too big now all three of her kids are out of the house, but Jack isn’t sure if that means she’s thinking of moving or of adopting another round of children. Maybe she just wants them visiting more often.

He’d moved in with Medda when he was 13, and a bit of a problem child. She already had this house then, and she’d let him choose his own bedroom and decorate it however he wanted – which, when you’re talking about a kid with as much restless creative energy as Jack has, was a recipe for a messy, paint splattered mess. Jack loves it. She’d let him run relatively wild, all told, as long as he came home at the end of the night and called her when he needed help. Spot, a year older than Jack, joined them just six months later. Smalls, four years younger, came just a year after that.

Spot’s car is already parked outside when they arrive, and Jack knows Smalls is staying with Medda while her school is on break, which means that Jack and company are the last to get here. Medda must’ve seen them pull up, because by the time they’ve all piled out of the car, she’s waiting for them on the doorstep.

Jack runs to her and gives her a tight hug. “Hey, Mama. Sorry we’re late.”

“Don’t worry about it, honey,” Medda replies. She steps away. “Davey! Get over here and give me a hug!”

“I’m coming, Medda!” says Davey, laughing.

“Congratulations, kid,” Medda says once he’s reached her and pulled her into his own hug. “I’ve never seen Jack as happy as he is with you and Leah; I’m glad he found you.”

“I’m glad I found him, too, Medda,” Davey says. He looks over her shoulder at Jack, with the softest smile Jack’s ever seen on his face.

He resists the urge to fight down the warm fuzzy feeling growing in his chest – he’s _allowed_ to feel fuzzy about Davey, right? They’re getting married! – and they go inside.

Dinner is the same wild affair it always is in the Larkin household, but with the added layer of excited wedding chatter overtop. And there’s cake! Just a grocery store cake with _Congratulations Jack and David_ in icing on the top, but it makes Jack happy nonetheless.

“Hey, Gram?” Frankie asks, looking up from his cake.

“What’s up, Frankie?” Medda replies.

“S’this make you Leah’s Gram, too?”

“You know, I think it does,” says Medda, grinning.

“Wow, Jack,” says Leah. “I think you make our family, like, a bajillion times bigger.”

Jack laughs. “Your family was already pretty big, kiddo. Everybody here already counted.” He reaches over and wipes some icing off of her cheek. “We’re just makin’ it official.”

Leah ponders this for a moment. “So next time we do families at school I can put you guys on?”

“And I can put you!” Frankie says excitedly. “Aw, man. That’s the best.”

“Yeah, Bean, you can,” says Jack.

Not long after that, the kids get cleaned up and dismissed from the table, so they go and play a game of what sounds like ballet superheroes in the living room.

“Don’t climb on the furniture!” Spot yells over his shoulder as they run by.

“You two have any actual plans, yet?” Smalls asks. She’s still picking at her cake, trying to get as much cake off of the artificial grocery store icing as possible before Crutchie steals her plate to eat all the rejected icing. “Like, wedding stuff?”

“Not really,” says Davey, shrugging. “It’s early yet. Hey, Sean, Tones, you two wanna be my groomsmen?”

“Um, _yes_ ,” Race replies.

Spot looks at Jack. “What, you don’t want us?”

Jack laughs. “You three have, like, a whole thing. I ain’t gettin’ in the way’a that. Sides,” he winks at Crutchie across the table, “if I didn’t ask Crutchie to be my best man I think he’d change the locks on our apartment.”

“Like you ever sleep at home anymore anyway,” says Crutchie, rolling his eyes. “I swear, it’s like you think it’s some glorified closet.”

“ _Crutchie_!” Jack replies, blushing slightly. “Almost every weeknight I’m home, and he acts like he never sees me.”

“I see Davey more than I see you!”

“You always saw Davey more than me, you work with Davey!”

“That’s no excuse, John Francis Kelly.”

“Ooh,” Smalls says, “he whipped out the full name. You’re in trouble, Jacky.”

“Crutch, you wanna be my best man or not?” says Jack, leaning back in his chair and shaking his head.

“Of course I do, what kind of a question even is that?”

\--

David loves being in Medda’s house. Even though only one of her children still lives here, and even then only part-time, it’s always a little messy in a delightfully lived in way. And he loves seeing all the pictures on the walls and shelves – not just of Jack, but of Sean and Tony and Charlie, too, since Jack and Sean have known Tony and Charlie since they were kids. And that’s not even mentioning all of Jack’s art.

David has yet to come across a painting in this house that hasn’t been Jack’s.

And there is a _lot_ of art in this house.

He’s wandering the halls while Les plays with the kids and Jack talks to his mother, looking at desert landscape after desert landscape, when Tony catches up with him. “You for real want me’an Sean up there with you?”

“That’s a silly question, Tones,” says David.

“Is not, that’s a big deal!” says Tony.

“Yeah, and short of Jack and Leah, you two are the most important people in my life,” David replies, shrugging. “You’re _family_ , not to mention the best friends I’ve ever had. Who’d you think I was going to ask, _Sarah_?”

“Kinda, yeah,” Tony says.

David laughs. “Sarah, like, burst into my house and told me not to date him.”

“So did Sean,” Tony reminds him.

“Details. Point is I love you guys,” says David.

“Well, good, ‘cause we’re gonna be the best groomsmen you’ve ever seen,” says Tony, grinning.

“Hey, Tony, do you know why so many of these are deserts?” David asks, nodding toward the nearest painting.

“Oh, Jack went through this, like, _intense_ cowboy phase,” Tony replies, draping himself across David’s shoulders. “Which would’a been cute if he’d been a kid, but he was, like, seventeen. Anyway he got this bug about desert skies and it was all he’d paint for _ages_.”

“I can see that,” says David. “There are four deserts landscapes in this hallway alone.”

“He still does’em, I think,” Tony says. “Like, when he’s stressed. He did the one over our couch.”

“Somehow I’m not surprised,” says David. “He’s determined to cover every wall in my apartment with paintings, you know.”

“He gonna move in with you guys?” asks Tony, turning his head toward David’s to watch his reaction.

David shrugs – no mean feat, since his shoulders are weighed down by Tony’s limbs. “We haven’t talked about it since he proposed, but yeah. I mean, we’ve got the space and he’s around all the time anyway. Plus, I don’t think I could handle living further than ten feet away from you and Sean, I’d miss you too much.”

Tony laughs. “Course you would. We’re amazing.”

“It’s kind of wild to think about, you know,” David says. He tucks his hands into his pockets. “Marrying him, having him move in. Exciting, but wild.”

“You two’s been a bituva whirlwind, that’s for damned sure,” says Tony. “But’chr happy?”

“Yeah, Tones,” says David. “Happier than I’ve been in a long time.”

“That’s good, then,” says Tony. He leans on David. “You guys’re stayin’ the night, right?”

“Because I love my daughter and your son, yes,” says David, laughing. “Enough to share the twin bed in my future husband’s childhood bedroom.”

“You could sleep in the back yard with Les, Smalls, and the kids!”

“Oh hell no. I’d rather share a twin bed with another full grown adult than sleep outside, even in a tent as fancy as Medda’s.”

Tony laughs. “Yeah, okay. S’a good thing we don’t have a nice big back yard like this, or they’d wanna do it all the time.”

“They _do_ want to do it all the time,” David points out. “I spend half my life prying one of our children out of the wrong house at bedtime.”

“I don’t think that’s how halves work, mister big shot engineer,” teases Tony. “But yeah, I getcha.” He slides off of David’s shoulders, taking a small step so they’re facing each other. “Hey, Daves?”

“What’s up, Tony?” David asks, a little thrown by his friend’s suddenly serious expression.

“I love you,” Tony says. “I’m really glad you moved in across from us, I’m glad we get to raise our kids together, and I’m glad you’re going to be our brother-in-law. You’ve always been family to us, you know that, right?”

“Yeah, Tones,” says David. “I love you, too.”

Tony pats David’s shoulder and walks away. “I’m gonna go try to wrangle the college kids into managing bedtime.”

“Good luck!” David calls after him.

David wanders up to Jack’s old room. Jack has beaten him up there, and is perched on his bed deep in a sketchbook.

“Hey, love,” David says, lingering in the doorway.

“Oh, hi Davey!” Jack replies. He looks up, a wide smile lighting up his face.

“What’cha drawin’?” asks David. He crosses the room to climb onto the bed with his fiancé.

“Just the kids,” says Jack. He tips his sketchbook so David can see. “Mama’s birthday’s comin’ up, I thought she might like a portrait of her grandbabies. ‘Specially now Leah’s one all official like.”

“She’s going to love that,” says David, leaning on Jack with his head on his shoulder.

“Hey, Spot wants to do a grown-up movie night in the family room once the kids are settled,” Jack says. “You down?”

“That depends, who’s picking the movie?” David replies, laughing. “I love Sean, but he always picks the weirdest fucking movies.”

“Probably Spot, you know Racer can’t say no to him,” says Jack.

“That’s because in every other aspect of his life, Sean is usually right.”

“And he thinks I’m the Race in our relationship!”

David kisses Jack’s cheek. “You are.”

Jack shoves him away, laughing. “Movie or no movie, Davey?”

“Movie, c’mon,” David says, getting up and tugging Jack behind him.

\--

“Hey, Charlie, when does your lease end?”

“May,” Charlie replies, leaning back in his office chair to look at David. “And I’ve already been fantasizing about what my roommateless life will be like, so if you’re here to tell me you’re dumping him –“

David laughs. “He can’t be that bad.”

“He leaves paintbrushes _everywhere_ , Dave,” Charlie says. His tone is serious, but his eyes betray a smile. “Never puts the dishes away, always laying on our couch mooning over the gorgeous guy he’s seeing.” He winks. “Although I guess you won’t have to worry about that part.”

“I should hope not,” says David.

“He’s a nightmare,” says Charlie, but he’s grinning openly now. “An absolute nightmare, are you sure you want him to live with you?”

“You make a strong argument,” David says, also smiling, “but unfortunately, I kind of love him.”

“Oh, that _is_ unfortunate,” says Charlie. “You should marry him or something.”

“I’ll take it under consideration,” says David. He grins, but then mentally shifts back into work mode. “Hey, have you heard back from Henry yet?”

\--

“Light of my life, do you want to have lunch with me today?” Jack asks, sitting on Katherine’s desk.

“Do you want something from me?” says Katherine.

“Lunch!” says Jack. “Just lunch, why don’t you trust me?”

“Because you’re a trouble maker, Jack,” Katherine replies, shaking her head. “You say ‘hey, Kathy, come to lunch with me’ and the next thing I know I’m standing in Millennium Park barefoot in a fountain.”

“You say that like you didn’t love it,” Jack says, rolling his eyes. “Best fuckin’ fountain in this city, Kath.”

“I know that,” says Katherine. “I’m just saying.”

“How about this, you come to lunch and _then_ I tell you what I want,” says Jack. “C’mon, Kathy, it’s been ages.”

“I’m wearing boots today, no fountains,” Katherine says, but Jack knows this means she’s on board.

Katherine is the only person in his office who fully goes along with his shenanigans. Sure, Finch will sometimes tag along, but there’s a reason Jack had clicked with Kath as quickly as he did.

He doesn’t actually have much of a shenanigan planned today, though. Not by his usual standards, anyway.

They grab a lunch of sandwiches and cans of pop from their favorite sandwich place on the corner, and walk together to the park. Nothing special, nothing they’ve never done a hundred times.

“What’s your game, Kelly?”

Jack stretches out under the tree they’ve claimed the shade of for their picnic. “I just wanted to have a nice lunch with my friend. Is that so unbelievable, Katydid?”

“It is from you,” says Katherine. She kicks him.

“Fine, fine,” says Jack. He sits up, digging into his bag. “I was _going_ to do this all nice and stuff, ‘cause you appreciate that shit, but if ya gonna be impatient, here.”

He tosses a card at her. It’s got a print of Katherine’s favorite photo of his on the outside, and the inside is hand painted and lettered in colored inks. No such effort made for Crutchie, who would appreciate the art but roll his eyes at the sentimentality, but Jack knows Katherine. She likes making things for people, and she _loves_ receiving things people have made for her. This’ll be worth the effort.

_I love you, you’re family. I don’t want to get married without you by my side. Be my groomsperson?_

“Oh, Jack, of course I will,” says Katherine. “This is so sweet, you did this yourself? It’s amazing!”

“Took a little bit’a practicin’ to get the letters to look good,” Jack says, glowing at the praise. “But I thought you’d like it.”

“I love it, Jack,” says Katherine. She leans over to hug him. “And I love you. I can’t wait to be part of your wedding.” She shifts her weight back. “Who else is going to be on your side?”

“Just Crutchie; we’re thinking two each,” says Jack.

Katherine laughs. “Oh, Sarah’s gonna be so jealous. Dave’s asking Spot and Race, isn’t he?”

“Sure is,” says Jack, also laughing.

They talk a little more about the wedding – Kath’s still fresh off of her own, and is absolutely full of tips and suggestions – and then drift into other topics. It’s been too long since Jack and Katherine actually hung out on their own, Jack thinks. He should fix that.

Before they know it, it’s time to head back to the office and actually do their jobs. Jack sends Davey a quick text before he tucks his phone away and returns to staring blankly at his computer screen for the afternoon.

_To: Davey!_

_I officially have two whole groomspeople. Thanks for the idea, she loved the card :)_


	3. An Interlude

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little shorter than the last two, but I really like it. It's got four short segments from a few different POVs than usual :)

“Hey, Kath?” says Bill, his tone a little hesitant. “We were just wondering, do you, uh – do you ever wonder what happened to Leah and Dave?”

Katherine freezes. “Not really, no. Why?”

“Because I see somebody behind you who looks an awful lot like Dave Jacobs,” Bill tells her. “With a little kid who looks about the right age.”

“So, like, don’t turn around,” Darcy adds. “He’s coming this way.”

“I think he recognized us,” says Bill, frowning.

“I see,” says Katherine. She then, to the squawked protests of her lunch companions, stands up and turns in the direction they’re both looking.

“Katie!” David says, picking up his pace a little. “I thought that was you! Darce, Bill, hi! It’s been ages.”

“Hi, Dave,” the boys chorus.

Leah runs to Katherine and throws her arms around her waist. “Look what I picked out for Frankie’s birthday!”

David holds up a little wooden 3D puzzle kit with a set of paints to decorate it in the box. “It’s going to be a mess.”

“Oh, yeah, sure is. Race and Spot are going to _love it_ ,” says Katherine. “Hey, Bean, do you want to meet my friends?”

“Sure,” says Leah.

Katherine turns back toward Darcy and Bill, who are staring at her with twin looks of utter confusion. “Alright, kiddo, these are my friends Bill and Darcy. We went to college together, like Aunt Sar and Jack.” She looks back at her friends. “Guys, this is David’s daughter Leah.”

“Nice to meet’cha,” Leah says politely, clinging close to Katherine.

“Hello,” Darcy says, stunned.

“Nice to meet you,” adds Bill.

“ _Leah_ ,” finishes Darcy. He’s staring very intensely at Katherine, who refuses to give into it.

“Leah, baby, we’ve got to go meet Jack,” David says. He scoops Leah up from Katherine’s side, pressing a swift kiss to his sister-in-law’s cheek once Leah is settled on his hip. “Kate, we’ll see you Friday.”

“Right, see you then,” says Katherine. “Bye, Bean.”

“Bye, Aunt Kate!”

Katherine watches the Jacobses leave, then sits back down facing Bill and Darcy.

“You have questions,” she says.

“Just one, actually,” Bill says, his tone much calmer than his expression.

Darcy nods. “When the actual fuck?”

“So, funny story,” Katherine says, rubbing the back of her neck. “You know how you two didn’t come to my wedding?”

“We were in _Europe!”_ Darcy reminds her. They’ve had more than a handful of conversations about this.

Katherine waves him off. “I’m not trying to start a fight. But the thing is, Dave was at the wedding. He was _in_ the wedding.” She smiles a little sheepishly. “Because he’s my wife’s brother.”

“He’s _what?”_

“Does Sarah know?”

“That David’s her brother? Of course she knows,” Katherine says, trying to keep her tone as light as possible. “About the situation with Leah – yes. She didn’t know for a long time, though; David never told anyone who her mother is. He still really hasn’t – as far as I know, the only people who know are me, Sarah, and David’s fiancé, Jack.” She smiles a little sadly. “And the people who were, you know, around. But he doesn’t talk to any of our college friends anymore.”

“Wasn’t that super awkward for the two of you, though?” Bill asks bluntly. “You seeing his sister?”

Katherine shrugs. “I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t, at least at first. But you know David, he’s hard to disagree with once he’s got his mind set on a plan. He looked at me, right after I started dating Sarah, and said ‘Katie, if you’re gonna stay with my sister, we’ve gotta make this work.’ So we did.”

“He still calls you Kate,” Darcy notices, his voice soft. “Leah does, too?”

Katherine nods.

“That’s brutal, Kath.” Bill reaches across the table to put his hand over Katherine’s. “I can’t believe you never told us.”

“It’s okay, really,” says Katherine. “I’m happy, and he’s happy, and I get to be in Leah’s life at least a little, which is a chance I thought I’d lost forever. It’s _okay.”_

\--

Despite what he tells people, Charlie “Crutchie” Morris does actually like living with Jack. Usually.

Less when he comes home to the door unlocked and the kitchen in shambles because his roommate is in a painting frenzy, but, like. You win some and you lose some, you know? It’s part of what Jack is, so he deals.

He taps on Jack’s bedroom doorframe. “Hey, bud, you good?”

“What?” says Jack, looking up.

“Our house is in _shambles_ ,” Charlie says. “Your room is a mess. What are you working on?”

Jack gestures vaguely toward the large canvas propped on his easel. Charlie can see the loose outline of the downtown skyline, maybe angled from the lake? There are three small figures front and center, and Charlie doesn’t think he’d have to guess twice to figure out who they’ll be once the painting’s done. “Anniversary’s comin’ up.”

“This for Davey?” says Charlie, raising an eyebrow.

“Course it’s for Davey,” says Jack. He very gingerly picks up a printed photo sitting on his desk and passes it to Charlie, being very careful not to smudge his painty fingers across it.

It’s a sweet picture from earlier in the summer, one Finch took when the whole gang was out at the park for a concert or something, of Jack, Davey, and Leah with the city rising up behind them. It’s a nice photo – definitely one of the benefits of being friends with professional photographers – and Charlie can see where Jack’s stylized a little bit from it in his sketch but it’s clearly the inspiration for the painting.

“S’gonna be real nice,” Charlie says, handing the photo back. “Hey, Jackie?”

“What, Crutch?”

“I don’t think Davey’ll like it if you leave his kitchen lookin’ like ours does right now,” says Charlie, grinning. “Just sayin’.”

“What’s wrong with our kitchen?” asks Jack, his eyebrows pushing together in a mix of confusion and distress.

“You went out for a snack run at some point,” Charlie says. He looks pointedly at the half finished bowl of dry cereal sitting on Jack’s bed.

“Mm. I see,” says Jack. “Sorry I left the kitchen in a state.”

“It’s a disaster, Jack, honestly,” says Charlie. He laughs. “You haven’t worked yourself up this much over a painting in a while.”

“I want it to be perfect,” Jack says, shrugging. “Like, I always want them to be perfect, but like – it’s _Davey_ and it’s for our anniversary and I want it to be worth hangin’ on the wall at his place, y’know?”

Charlie shakes his head. “Jackie boy, first of all, I ain’t seen you make anything not fucking stunning possibly ever. Second of all, no matter what you paint Davey is going to love it, because the man adores you.” He moves Jack’s snack and sketchbook aside to sit down on the bed. “Third of all, fuckin’ chill, dude. Things are goin’ pretty good with Davey, right? You two’s gettin’ married and everything. Don’t work yourself up so much, ‘kay?”

“I’m not workin’ myself up,” Jack says, his tone defensive.

“Yeah, yeah,” says Charlie. “And that’s not a brand new Santa Fe in the corner. I know you.”

Jack sweeps a hand through his hair, paint rubbing off in his waves. “Crutchie, you think – I mean at this point it’s too late to worry Davey’s gonna come to his senses and dump me, right?”

“Lose his mind, more like,” says Charlie. “Jack, Davey ain’t goin’ anywhere.” Honestly, he loves Jack deeply but sometimes the man is as dumb as a box of rocks. “Like I said, he loves you. So does Leah. Three’a you’re gonna be the cutest damn family this side’a the Mississippi and I’m gonna get a cavity watchin’ you be all sweet and shit. Now tear yourself away from your project and help me make some sense of our house.”

\--

“If I lead by saying that I love our son more than anything and he’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me, will you not judge me too hard for saying that I am so fucking glad he is out of the house right now I can’t even think about anything else?”

Tony barks a laugh. “No judgment, Sean, I promise.”

“Good,” Sean replies, flopping onto the couch. “Because I am so glad Frankie is out of the house right now I can’t focus on anything else.”

“Someday he and Leah are going to be adults and they’ll move away,” says Tony, grinning. “How will you feel then?”

“I’ll appreciate that I got breaks from them when they were children so I didn’t murder them before they reached adulthood,” Sean says flatly. Tony laughs again.

“Yeah, okay,” Tony says. He leans on Sean, putting his head on his husband’s shoulder. “Hey, Sean?”

“What’s up?”

“Have you ever thought about having a second kid?”

Sean raises an eyebrow at Tony. _He’s_ the one who mentioned Leah, after all.

“Right,” says Tony, smiling. “Have you ever thought about having a _third_ kid?”

“Once or twice,” Sean replies with a shrug. “I take it you have.”

Tony hums. “Once or twice. With school starting again, I’ve been thinkin’ if we want another it should be soon, you know? Wouldn’t want them too far apart.”

“If we decide we want another, we could adopt. Then the timing wouldn’t matter as much, because we could look for a kid a little closer to Cesco’s age,” Sean points out. “And if we did that, we would get to skip the up all night with a baby phase.”

“True,” says Tony.

“Tones, do you _want_ another kid?” Sean asks.

Tony hums again, nestling in a little closer to Sean. “I don’t know, maybe. I wouldn’t want to move, though, and space here might be a little tight.” He yawns. “We’d have to find one of those houses that’s been split into two, y’know? And both halves would have to go on sale at the same time.”

“What’re you talkin’ about, sweetness?” says Sean, but he’s pretty sure he knows.

“So we could still live with Dave,” Tony says, like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. It is, really, because that’s exactly what Sean thought he meant.

“Well if it came down to it, we could pool our money with the Jacobs-Kellys and just get one really big house,” Sean says, laughing. “I’d move back in with my brother if I had to for you and Daves. But I don’t think it’s going to come up.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” says Tony. “Alright, enough kid talk. We can – maybe we can revisit that sometime though. This is _child free Tuesday_ and we are going to enjoy it, damn it.”

\--

Leah and Frankie are on the floor of Leah’s bedroom, drawing. They’d spent the morning playing transformers at Frankie’s, but right before lunch Frankie’s daddy had to leave for the studio, so they came over here to do art for a while before they have to leave for dance class.

“Beah?” Frankie says, still looking down at his drawing with his tongue poking out of his mouth a little. “What’cha gonna call Uncle Jack once he’n your dad get married?”

“I dunno,” Leah replies. “He an’ Daddy haven’t said anything, y’know? I think I hafta pick.”

“They pro’lly don’t wan’cha to feel like you _hafta_ call’im anything different,” says Frankie. He points at her with his marker. “Do you _wanna_?”

Leah shrugs. “Yeah. M’excited he’s gonna be my dad too. I want him to know, you know?”

“Uh huh.” Frankie sits up, criss-crossing his legs and looking at Leah with his head tipped to one side. “You gonna wait till they get married to start callin’ Uncle Jack dad or whatever?”

“I gotta test stuff out,” Leah says. She sits up, too, pulling one leg up to her chest. “’Spearmint, you know? Like, should he just be Dad too?”

Frankie wrinkles his nose. “That seems confusing.”

“Yeah, but like. How many other options even are there?”

“Well mine are Dad and Poppa,” says Frankie. “Be funny if Poppa and Uncle Jack had the same dad name don’cha think?”

Leah giggles. “They’d hate it. I love it.”

“You should try it out on’im,” Frankie says. “Do your ‘spearmint.”

“Mmhmm,” says Leah. She taps her fingers on her knee. “Maybe Papa, though. ‘Stead’a poppa like yours, y’know?”

Frankie’s eyebrows push together a little bit and he tips his head to the side a little further. “Papa, poppa. Don’t sound that different, Beah.”

“S’a little different though. An’ that way we won’t have the same names,” Leah says. “N’anyway, isn’t your poppa poppa on account of his name bein’ Spot?”

“I guess so,” says Frankie. “Dunno how much it matters if your dads have the same name as my dads, though. We both already have a Dad.”

“I’ll test it out,” Leah says, nodding firmly. There’s a sound of movement in the kitchen and Leah cocks her own head to the side, listening. Dad never makes that much noise, so it’s either Jack or Uncle Les. “You wanna snack?”

“Sure,” says Frankie.

The kids walk to the kitchen together, where they find Jack looking through the pantry for something.

“Hey, Papa, can we have some goldfish?” Leah asks, testing out the sound of it.

“Yeah, baby, let me just grab a –“ Jack stops dead, looking at Leah with wide eyes. “Wait, what?”

“Goldfish,” Leah repeats. She has a feeling this is not the part Jack is stuck on, but she wants to cover her bases.

“Yeah, I got that part,” says Jack.

Frankie elbows her.

“Right. Can we _please_ have some goldfish?” asks Leah. Frankie elbows her again. “Please, Papa? We won’t spoil our dinner, promise.”

“Did you just – _Leah_ ,” says Jack. “What did you just call me?”

“Papa?” Leah blinks up at him, determined not to be embarrassed. “Is that okay?”

Jack looks like he might cry. “Yeah, Bean. That’s okay.”

Leah doesn’t think they’re going to get their snack, because it looks like Jack is having a bit of a moment. She moves forward and wraps her arms around his waist, but only for a moment before he picks her up, so she hugs his neck instead. “You okay?”

“I’m happy, Leah,” Jack says. “I’m really happy. I love you, kiddo.”

“I love you, too, Papa.”


	4. The Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter brought to you by a fifteen minute ramble to my fiance last night about the layout of Davey's apartment.

“You know, I still can’t believe you agreed to go out with me after the first thing I ever did was walk into you and spill your coffee.”

“ _That’s_ the part you don’t believe?” Davey laughs, pulling Jack close with an arm around his waist.

“Well, yeah,” says Jack. “I mean, think about it – if you’d turned me down then, your sister’s _Jack Kelly is a heartbreaker and terrible person_ campaign wouldn’t have even gotten off the ground!”

“I guess you’re just lucky you’re cute,” says Davey.

“You think so?” Jack says hopefully.

Davey laughs again, then leans down to kiss Jack’s cheek. “Yeah, Jack, you’re cute. You’d think after a year you’d know that.”

“I could always use another reminder, because every single day I’m blown away I caught somebody as gorgeous as you,” says Jack.

“Flirt,” says Davey.

“Only with you, darlin’.”

“Funny thing about Sarah’s campaign,” Davey says, looking thoughtful. At Jack’s slightly panicked look, he adds, “Relax, Jacky.” He squeezes Jack close again. “She kept bringing Kate around with her to try to warn me off, because, like, they’d both dated you, I guess?”

Jack shrugs. “I mean, fair enough.”

“So they – wait, oh god, I just realized my sister and I are both involved with each other’s college exes,” Davey says with a dramatic shudder. “That’s weird.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I like you better’n Sarah,” Jack says, leaning on him.

They’re walking through the pleasant early autumn evening, making for home with no particular rush. They’ve just had a lovely dinner after an afternoon entirely to themselves, with Leah in the care of first Les and now Race and Spot.

“That does make me feel a little better, thank you,” says Davey. He kisses Jack’s temple. “Anyway, the funny thing about Sarah bringing Kate along with her was that, like. Sarah had no fucking _clue_ how much more scared of Kate I was than any of _your_ past.”

“Davey, love, I don’t think we have the same definition of ‘funny,’” Jack says, his voice a little tight.

“Sorry,” says Davey. He squeezes Jack again. “I guess the thing is, like. _I_ look back on that as this weird, cruel irony – Kate saying she didn’t want me making her mistakes, like I’m not the biggest mistake she’s ever made.” He shakes his head. “I’m sorry, this is probably weird for you. My mouth’s ahead of my brain again.”

Jack lets his head fall on Davey’s shoulder. “Sort it out, I got time.”

Davey lets out a breathy laugh. “See, that’s one of those things. I guess I – I should’ve started this differently. It’s just funny to me that the girls tried to warn me off of the best thing that’s ever happened to me?”

“The best –“

“You and Leah are number one and number two on that list, Jack,” Davey says seriously. “And the thing is – the thing about Leah is that adore her and I don’t regret her for an instant, but she’s tied to one of the most _painful_ things that’s ever happened to me. That’s not her fault, but I can’t change it.” He looks at Jack. “So yeah. The best.”

“Shit, Davey,” Jack says. He meets Davey’s eye, and for a moment he almost can’t breathe. Leave it to David Jacobs to still take his breath away with just a look after a whole year. Jack’s sure he’ll be doing it for the rest of their lives. “You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, too, you know. You and Leah both.”

They stop. They’re just outside of Davey’s building, now, and once they go in their quiet date will be replaced by the chaos of their regular life. Still sweet, still by far Jack’s favorite thing in the world, but absent this calm, comfortable silence.

Davey sighs. “I love you, Jack Kelly. More than I ever thought I could.”

“I love you, too, Davey,” Jack says. He pushes up on his toes to bring his face up to Davey’s, kissing him in the warm glow of a streetlight. When he rocks back onto his heels, he keeps his eyes on Davey’s face. “Hey, I got somethin’ for ya.”

“You didn’t have to, Jackie,” Davey says, shaking his head fondly. “Really.”

“I wanted to, love,” Jack says. “C’mon, it’s in the house. Your brother helped me sneak it in.”

“The traitor!” says Davey, laughing.

Jack tugs Davey to the front door by the hand, digging out his key to let them into the building. He’s practically buzzing with anticipation by the time they’re going into Davey’s apartment. He pulls Davey through the living room and comes to a stop next to the couch.

“Alright, Jackie, what’s your big surprise?” Davey asks. Jack sees it before he does, but the soft _oh_ of recognition is unmistakable when Davey’s eyes lock on his gift.

After a lot of back-and-forth with Les, Race, and Spot over placement, they’d settled on the far wall over the dining table, perpendicular to the wall of windows that faces the street. It’s a big painting for Jack, both in literal size and metaphorical weight.

It’s a cityscape, which isn’t exactly Jack’s usual fare either. But when they’d been in the park that day in June and Davey said _this is my favorite view of the city, you know_ Jack had known then and there he was going to paint it for him. And right there at the center is the part Jack is most nervous about – three small figures, two adults and a small child.

Davey and Leah and Jack.

“Jack, this is beautiful,” Davey says, his voice barely more than a breath. “ _Jack_. You painted this?”

“Course I did,” says Jack.

Davey pulls away from him slightly, but doesn’t break physical contact. Instead he gently tugs Jack a little further into the dining space, so he can look at it a little more closely.

“This is – _thank you_ ,” says Davey. He turns and kisses Jack firmly. “This is amazing, Jackie. It’s that day in June, isn’t it? The photo Finch took?”

“Give or take a couple’a details here’n there,” Jack replies. He grins, proud Davey recognized it so quickly. “It’s not too much?”

“Too much?” Davey echoes. “Jack, I – I don’t – _no_ , it’s not too much. It’s _incredible_ and it’s so you.” He kisses Jack again. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Davey-mine,” says Jack.

Davey winces slightly. “Mm. Maybe not that one.”

Well _that’s_ something they should unpack at a later date. “Love?”

“Better.” He hums. “I can’t believe you managed to hang a fucking painting in my house without me knowing.”

“Is that okay? Is this spot okay? Racer wanted to do the opposite wall and –“

“Jack!” Davey interrupts, smiling. “It’s fine, I’m _impressed_ , not upset. This wall is perfect, we’ll look at it every time we sit down to eat and it won’t get overshadowed by the tv like it would on the opposite wall.” He rests his forehead against Jack’s. “It’s perfect, breathe.”

And because Jack’s lungs are apparently taking orders from Davey now, he does. “I’m glad you like it. I was nervous.”

“You didn’t have to be,” says Davey. His arms around Jack now, one hand running up and down his spine. “I love all your work. And this – our family in my favorite place? What’s not to love?”

“God, I love you,” Jack says instead of answering.

“I love you, too, Jackie,” says David.

“Do you think Spot and Racer would keep Lee overnight?”

“They’re already planning to.”

\--

The problem with your child having sleepovers in the apartment next door where the parents have a key to your house is that your child can reappear in your own apartment with little to no warning.

All this is to say that Jack wakes up the next morning to Leah Jacobs landing heavily on his chest. Leah doesn’t _always_ wake them up like this, but this is far from the first Saturday that’s started with Jack getting the wind knocked out of him.

“Dad! Papa!” she squeals. “Tony says we don’t have dance class today which means we can go to the museum! Can we go to the museum?”

“Does Frankie want to go?” Davey asks sleepily. “MSI or the Field? I need more information, baby.”

Jack laughs. “Are we going, too, or are Sean and Tony taking you?”

Leah rolls her eyes. “The Field, Daddy, we wanna see _dinosaurs_. An’ we should all go! Uncle Les doesn’t even have kickball today!”

“Sounds like fun, Lee-bee,” Jack says. “Whaddya say, Dad? You down for dinosaurs?”

“I dunno, Papa,” Davey replies, and Jack’s got this soaring feeling in his chest because that’s _him_ , “I might get eaten by a dinosaur. That sounds scary.”

“Dad _dy_ ,” Leah says, giggling as she crawls from Jack to Davey, “the dinosaurs are fossils! Skel-uh- _tins_. They can’t getcha.”

Davey hums. “I don’t know, Leah-beah. Will you hold my hand so I don’t get scared?”

“If I _have_ to,” Leah says dramatically. “S’at mean we can go?”

“Yeah, baby girl, we can go,” says Davey, laughing. “How about you go pick something to wear, and Papa and I will be up in a couple of minutes?”

“Can Uncle Les make pancakes?”

“ _Can_ Uncle Les make pancakes?” Jack repeats, raising an eyebrow skeptically.

“It’s the only thing he’s good at,” says Davey. “Yeah, Bee, he can make pancakes.”

“ _Yes!”_ Leah says. She launches herself off of the bed.

Davey rolls to face Jack, laughing. “Apparently we’re going to the Field.”

“Hey, I’m down,” says Jack. “It’s been ages since I went. S’long as we can skip the weird taxidermy dioramas, those freak me out.”

“Frankie can’t even look at them,” Davey says, waving a hand. “Last time we went he saw one by accident and cried for almost half an hour.”

“Great then.”

Jack and Davey’s phones both go off at once. When Jack reaches for his, he sees two messages in the group chat between him, Davey, Spot, and Race.

_DAD SQUAD 2.0_

_Racetrack: get your dino hunting pants on boys_

_Racetrack: we’re goin to the field_

Jack laughs. “Davey, what if I don’t have any dino hunting pants?”

“Regular pants will be fine,” says Davey. “I’ll just make sure to put myself between you and the dinos.”

_Spotty boy: daves is les coming w us_

_Spotty boy: nvm he just came over_

_Racetrack: pancakes at ur place!!!_

And that’s all the warning Jack gets before the front door bursts open, and he hears his brother-in-law’s voice singing an ode to pancakes that he’s definitely making up on the spot.

Davey rolls out of bed and offers a hand to Jack. “C’mon, love. Sooner we get up the less mess we’ll have to clean up. Les can make pancakes but he needs supervision and Tony ain’t it.”

Jack laughs and follows Davey into the kitchen.

\--

He’s always genuinely loved the Field Museum, but going with the family has Jack appreciating it like it’s something brand new.

They drove here in one car, which was tight but manageable, and once they’d all climbed out the kids had run ahead. After some shuffling of tickets and membership cards and special exhibitions, Leah and Frankie each take an adult by the hand and physically drag them toward the stairs.

(They’re wearing matching outfits, and it’s clear to Jack that they take this whole dinosaur thing very seriously. There’s a dino bone pattern on their shorts and their t-shirts are printed with triceratopses.)

It’s nothing Jack hasn’t done before, and yet he can’t help enjoying it. He watches the kids jump dramatically onto each mass extinction marker in the evolution exhibit, getting closer and closer to their goal. Every once in a while, one of them will scurry back over to him and drag him over to read something out loud or look at a fossil with them.

Les, who is also wearing a shirt with a dinosaur on it, elbows Jack once they’ve reached the actual hall of dinosaurs. “You havin’ fun?”

“I don’t think I’ve had this much fun in a museum since _I_ was a kid,” Jack says, tucking his hands into his pockets. “I feel a little underdressed, though.”

Les laughs. “Be careful what you wish for, Sean might hear you.”

“Hey, I’d wear a dinosaur shirt if I had one,” says Jack, also laughing. “F’Spot wants to be the one to put that in my wardrobe, I ain’t stoppin’ him.” He watches Leah work through a little interactive display by one of the skeletons. “Feels different to be out with the whole crew, you know? Like, I’ve been hangin’ out with just Dave and Leah for months, but this is the first time we’ve all come out together like this.”

“Welcome to the family, man,” Les says genuinely. “That’s what this is, you know. Dave and Leah are one thing, but like – you marryin’ Dave is more than just the two’a them.”

“I know,” says Jack. His gaze drifts to Spot, Race, and Frankie, who are reading a sign out loud together. “Think I’ve spent more time with Spot since I started seeing Dave than I have since we were kids. Maybe ever. In a lotta ways he’s more Davey’s family than mine.”

Les shrugs. “It’s all the same now, in’nit?”

“S’pose so,” says Jack. “It’s just kinda funny to think about, y’know?”

“Then don’t think about it, man,” says Les. “Leave the overthinking to my brother and just have some fun, okay?” He laughs at Jack’s expression. “Man, you and Davey really are made for each other. That’s the same face he always makes when I call ‘im out.”

Jack snorts. “If you say so.”

“Well, I do.” Les elbows him again. “For real, though, Jack. You fit real well into our weird little family. Kinda like there was a spot waiting for you the whole time. I’m glad you found it.”

Jack takes a deep breath, steadying. Then he throws an arm around Les’s shoulders and pulls him into a half hug. “Thanks, man.”

Les shrugs him off. “I’m just tellin’ the truth.”

Before Jack can respond, Frankie runs up to them. “C’mere, guys! I wanna see if we can all fit in the dino footprint!”

\--

There’s a Jacobs family reunion in November.

David is, to put it mildly, dreading it. For one thing, he’s not a huge fan of large groups of people, especially ones he’s supposed to be able to at least recognize, but for another he cannot for the life of him figure out how to bring it up to Jack. It wouldn’t be a problem – Jack’s a highly social person, and he’s already deeply entangled with the family that really _matters_ – except for one tiny detail: back in January, talking about this reunion is what almost ruined their relationship forever. Not the reunion on its own, really, but the conversation that spun out from it.

David knows it won’t be a problem. Hell, the whole issue in January had been that he didn’t trust that Jack would still be around. Here they are at the beginning of November and not only is Jack still here, they’re _engaged_. And yet something keeps the topic stuck to the back of David’s throat every time he tries to bring it up.

In the end it’s Leah – always Leah – who cuts through it. “Daddy, how come you don’t talk about the reunion in fron’na Jack?”

“What?”

Leah taps her knuckles against the table a few times, like she’s trying to get his attention even though he’s looking right at her. “We’re goin’ to the reunion, right, Dad?”

“Yeah,” says David, feeling a little off balance. He sits down across the table from his daughter.

“And it’s next weekend?”

“Yeah.”

“You only talk about it when Papa’s not here,” Leah says. She looks down at her drawing. “I was wondering if you’d changed your mind.”

“I do _not_ only talk about it when Jack isn’t here,” David replies, frowning.

“Kid’s right,” Les says from the couch. “You’ve been avoiding it.”

“Did you two plan this?” David asks, suddenly suspicious.

Leah looks back up at him, cocking her head to one side. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Daddy.”

So later that night, David calls Jack.

“Heya, Davey. Couldn’t go a day without hearin’ my voice?”

“Hi Jack,” David says, a small smile finding its way to his face despite his nerves. “Had something I wanted to talk to you about, actually.”

“Okie doke,” Jack says. There’s a small sound of him setting something down. “A’right, shoot.”

“What are you doing next weekend?”

Jack laughs. “Whatever this phone call’s about, I’m sure. Isn’t your family reunion comin’ up?”

“You got it,” says David. “I hadn’t wanted to bring it up because –“

“No, I get it.”

“Yeah.” David takes a deep breath. “But I’d like you to come with us, if you – if that’s something you want.”

“I’d love to, Davey,” says Jack. “You sure?”

“Course I’m sure,” Davey replies. “Gotta prove to all my cousins that I didn’t just invent my gorgeous, talented fiancé after all.”

Jack laughs again. “You definitely invented those adjectives, but I’ll gladly go prove I’m real.”

\--

“Now, in theory, I’m going to introduce you to people,” David says. His fingers tighten around Jack’s and he makes a face. “But we’re not going out of our way here, okay? There’re a million cousins.”

Jack laughs brightly, and the sound soothes David’s nerves a little. “Million cousins, got it. Your sister went over the family tree with me an’ Kath the other day at lunch.”

“Hey, Dad? Papa?” Leah asks, turning to look up at them. “Can I go play with the kids?”

Jack drops to one knee to look her in the eye. “You gotta come when we come lookin’ for you, okay, baby?”

“ _Yeah_ , Papa. I will,” says Leah. “Can I go?”

“Go ahead.” Jack straightens up as she leaves, rolling his eyes. “Alright, Davey. Into the fray?”

David nods. “I think I see my cousin Dinah, let’s go talk to her. She’s always been my favorite.”

Jack snorts. “A’right, lead the way.”

David does, and by the time they’ve joined Dinah and a few of the others in their conversation about fish he’s finally starting to feel kind of steady.

Which is, of course the exact moment that –

“ _Jack Kelly_? Is that you?”

– things start to fall to pieces.


	5. The Holidays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up, and then subsequently had to remember, a ten-letter acronym for a joke in this chapter and I need you guys to appreciate it. Appreciate that and Les Jacobs, that's all I ask.  
> (This isn't actually a very Les heavy chapter I just love him.)  
> Opening picks up mere moments after the end of the last chapter.
> 
> oh! one more thing! I'm very tempted to do a college years prequel once bullseye is done (see tumblr for more details) and if you'd like to see that give me a suggestion for an ex of Jack's!

Jack knows that look. That is the _Davey feels like he’s lost control_ look, and it’s getting worse by the second. Davey is tense and pale and clearly unhappy with the turn this conversation has taken – namely into the depths of the ‘oh, you’re with – isn’t that _weird_ for you two?’ awkwardness.

“Hey, you know, uh –“ _oh god, fuck what’s her name? She and Sarah were fucking inseparable – “_ it’s been nice catchin’ up and all,” Jack says. He’s trying to come up with a good excuse to drag Davey away from this situation and get his head on straight again but nothing is coming. “It’s always, uh, fun to see people from college –“

“Jack, Davey, I think Leah’s looking for you,” Davey’s cousin Dinah offers. Jack meets her eye and tries to convey _thank you_ without moving his face at all. She nods. “I’ll catch up with you two, later, ‘kay? I’ll try to scare up Jay, I dunno where she got to but I’m sure she’d get along swell with you, Jack.”

“Sounds good,” says Jack. _What’s the other cousin’s name what’s her name what’s her name –_

“JoJo, it was nice talking to you,” Davey says stiffly. Right, JoJo. Sarah’s best college friend, apparently also related to the family which Jack feels like he knew but also really, really didn’t.

“See ya, JoJo,” Jack adds. He hooks an arm around Davey’s waist and pulls him away from the conversation.

They don’t speak until they’ve found Leah, who jumps up when she sees them coming, a concerned crinkle between her eyebrows.

“Dad, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, Bean, we just needed a break from the grownups,” Davey says. Leah’s still frowning at him. “You had any food yet, baby girl?”

“No,” Leah says.

“Let’s go check out the buffet then,” says Jack. He scoops Leah up and whispers in her ear as they walk. “Your daddy ain’t feelin’ so hot, Lee-bee, could’ja give’im a hug before you go back to playin’?”

Leah nods solemnly. “Uh huh.”

Davey makes up his own plate and Leah’s, much to Leah’s protests – “I don’t _want_ zucchini, Daddy!” – and the three of them sit down on mismatched folding chairs at one of the many tables set up around the room.

Leah scarfs down her food quickly, even her zucchini, and then jumps up. “Can I go back to playin’ now?”

“Go ahead, Lee-bee,” Davey says distractedly.

Leah looks at Jack, her lower lip caught between her teeth. She throws her arms around Davey’s torso, squeezing him as tight as her little arms will let her. “I love you, Dad.”

“Love you, too, kiddo,” says Davey. He looks pleasantly surprised, if maybe a little confused. Leah nods firmly and runs off. “You put her up to that?”

“Dunno what you’re talkin’ about, Davey,” Jack replies. He puts his hand on Davey’s. “Hey, look, I’m sorry about JoJo. That was, like, super weird.”

“Super weird,” echoes Davey. “It’s easy to forget that you and Sarah knowing each other in college means that you know each other’s people.” He turns his face toward Jack, his expression a little distant. “I mean, I guess she knows _your_ people, it stands to reason it would work the other way, too. But it’s still strange.”

Jack laughs. “Hey, at least she ain’t my ex, too?”

“Small victories, I guess,” Davey says, rolling his eyes. He’s smiling now, though, which is all Jack was really aiming for. “Nah, I wouldn’a minded. I know you.” He shrugs. “If I didn’t wanna be around your exes I’d have no friends. It was just a shock.”

“You’d still have Spot and Les.”

Davey snorts. “I always forget that you dated Tony, too. Young Jack did get around.”

“Lord, don’t remind me,” says Jack. “If I’m honest, love, even _I_ try not to think about it too much. Not that my friends ever let me hear the end of it.”

Davey leans on Jack, his head on his fiancé’s shoulder. “What, Jack, you tellin’ me you _don’t_ take pride in your whole – your whole _thing_?”

“Nah,” says Jack. “But it’s easier to be in on the joke, y’know? Ain’t like it’s goin’ away. Although I was kinda hopin’ your family wouldn’t hear about it; guess it’s a little late for that now.”

“I’m not ashamed of you, you know,” says Davey. He tips his head back to look at Jack’s face. “You’ve had a lot of relationships fall apart on you, and I know that’s not for lack of trying on your part. But you’re still friends with so many of them – Jack, that’s honestly amazing. That you care about people so much you can _keep_ caring about them after you’ve both been hurt?” He lets out a small, breathy laugh. “I know how hard that is, Jackie.”

Jack turns his own head slightly so he can kiss Davey’s forehead. “Sometimes I think you know better than I do. I ain’t ever had anything as heavy as you.”

“It’s not a competition, Jack,” says Davey. “Heartache is heartache.” He sits up, taking a slow breath. “Alright, enough feeling bad about ourselves because Jo couldn’t read the room.”

Jack laughs. “We haven’t talked to your parents yet, wanna go find them? Or I think I see Sarah and Kathy.”

“What’s the point of a huge party full of my cousins if we’re just gonna talk to my immediate family?” Davey says. He stands up, offering a hand to pull Jack to his feet, too. He looks around, scanning the large room. “No, I have like four cousins who I absolutely love and I never get to see, we’re gonna go find them.” His eyes fall on a woman who must be someone’s spouse or something, because she’s about four inches shorter than the average adult Jacobs family member. “Hey! Jay! Where’s your better half?”

“Davey!” she calls back. “Di’s grabbing food with the kiddo. That your man? Bring’im over, I gotta meet the guy who finally got Davey Jacobs to settle down.”

Davey rolls his eyes, grinning. Jack feels like he can breathe again – the tension has finally bled out of Davey’s posture, and his smile looks genuine. It’s kind of amazing, after what happened in January, how easily they sorted through this.

It feels like they’ve got their feet under them, solid and steady. Jack’s never had that before, not really. He tangles his fingers with Davey’s as they walk. He’s not gonna let this go.

\--

Jack is trying not to stress about the Higgins-Conlon-Jacobs Non-Denominational Winter Holiday Family Celebration – or, as Race keeps calling it the Dad Squad groupchat “the HCJNDWHFC, you know, for short” – but he’s not entirely succeeding. He missed out on last year’s ( _deep sigh_ ) HCJNDWHFC by virtue of the fact that he and Davey were still pretty new at the time, all told. He’d given the Jacobses little Christmas presents, but he hadn’t been around for – for family holiday time.

“You know,” Race muses, “we really should start calling it the H-C-J- _K_ -N-D-W-H-F-C this year.”

“No, we really shouldn’t,” says Jack. “I will change my name to Jack Jacobs when I marry Davey if it keeps you from adding another letter to that acronym.” He puts a hand on Race’s arm. “Man, I’m serious, I will take that stupid name for the team if I have to.”

Race throws his head back and laughs, shrugging Jack’s hand off. “God, man, can you even imagine? Not the acronym, you bein’ _Jack Jacobs_ for the rest’a your life.”

“Wouldn’t be so bad,” Jack says, grinning. “’Specially if it got you to shut up for a minute.”

“You _excited_ for HCJKNDWHFC, Jackie boy?” asks Race. He rattles off the acronym like it’s nothing. They’re gift shopping, while the kids are in a dance class that isn’t taught by Race himself.

Jack pauses for a moment, eyes falling closed as he sorts back through Race’s stupid acronym. “You included the K.”

“Yes, dumbass, I included the K!” Race says. He elbows his brother-in-law hard in the ribs. “We’re including the _Kelly_ so we’re including the K, my dude. Like, if you and Daves don’t opt for hyphenation that’s cool and shit but, like, right now we are a four-name household and you just gotta deal with that. Now are you excited or what? It’s your first HCJKNDWHFC!”

“For real, how do you remember that every time?”

“You are excited, aren’t you?” Race frowns. “You’re deflecting.”

“I’m excited,” Jack says, feeling slightly defensive.

“What’s up, Jack?”

Race tugs Jack over to a bench by the sleeve. They sit down together, and Race shoves his slipping glasses back up his nose before gesturing for Jack to speak.

“It just feels like a – like a big deal,” says Jack.

“So?” Race replies. “It is a big deal. But big deals aren’t always bad, you know? Sometimes they’re your wedding or your daughter’s birthday or sitting criss-cross applesauce on your brother’s living room floor in matching snowflake pajamas with your entire family watching weirdass stop-motion Christmas specials from the seventies.” He throws an arm around Jack’s shoulders, pulling him in close. “Get outta your head, Kelly. Get outta Santa Fe – I can see a desert brewin’ behind those eyes. I know it’s stupid to tell you not to stress about this because you can’t control what you stress about but, like, don’t, okay?”

“When did _you_ grow up, Tony?” Jack asks, wondering not for the first time how the Race he knew as a kid could possibly have turned into the man sitting next to him. It’s an odd question, he knows, but he gets the feeling Race will catch his meaning.

“I had my own big deals, Jackie,” Race says, his voice quiet. “I had my heartaches and stress and – and a lot of shit in college I really only talk about with Sean.” He squeezes Jack again. “I know how scary it is to know how important something is while it’s happening, okay? But you can’t be afraid of Davey, Jack.”

“I’m not afraid,” says Jack. “I just – I don’t want to mess it up.”

Race’s tone is teasing when he speaks again. “You know that’s a kind of being afraid, right?” He nudges Jack’s side. “Look, this is Christmas. Well, HCJKNDWHFC. There’s nothing to mess up – it’s just a fun day with presents and family. And you’re already family. Don’t think I haven’t heard your girl callin’ you Papa.”

Jack grins. “It’s still pretty new, she don’t use it all the time.”

“But she uses it,” says Race. “C’mon, bro. We’ve got some more shopping to do before Albert frees the children. You done havin’ your little moment?”

“Yeah, Racer, I’m done. Can we go look at art shit now? Lee-bee’s been asking for me to teach her about painting.”

\--

Moments completely alone in the apartment are few and far between for David, and he’s doing his best to enjoy the peace. He’s reading on the couch, stretched out and not having to share the space at all. Leah is at dance class, Jack is HCJKNDWHFC shopping with Race, Les is hanging out with friends. It is blissfully silent for the first time in probably two months.

The front door bursts open.

“Daves? You home?”

“I’m home.”

Sean comes in, kicking the door shut behind him, and flops onto the couch across David’s feet.

Moments completely alone in the apartment don’t exist.

Not that David actually had any issue with Sean’s presence, but it’s the principle of the thing – he’s no longer alone.

“What’s up, Sean?” David asks, his brow furrowed. Sean seems tense. Not that Sean is ever an especially _loose_ person – he keeps his face fairly still and gestures close to his body, leaving wild gesticulation and open expression to his husband – but there is a marked nervousness to his stillness.

“Who said something’s up?” replies Sean. “Can’t a guy lay on his best friend’s couch without bein’ questioned?”

“You’re acting really weird,” says David.

“Daves –“

“Sean,” David cuts in. “I know you. I’ve spent the last five years living ten feet away from you. We’re raising our kids together. What’s _wrong_?” He sets his book down on the coffee table and shifts over so he’s sitting close to Sean. It takes him a minute, because Sean’s full weight is on his feet at first, but he gets there.

“Tony wants another kid,” Sean blurts. His eyes are fixed on his hands, which are clinging tight to each other in his lap.

“Oh.” David tips his head to one side. “And how – how do you feel about that? I mean, I assume you _want_ to talk about it.”

“Fuck, Daves, I don’t know,” says Sean. “Like, do we have room for another person, physically, in our house? Am I capable of parenting more than one child? What if they hate me?”

“Kids can share bedrooms, Sean, I did for eighteen years and I didn’t die,” David says, trying to keep his voice steady and calm. One piece of the puzzle at a time. “There’s room in your house.”

“What if Frankie, like, resents us?” Sean’s voice is getting shakier with every word.

“Frankie won’t resent you.”

“How could you possibly know that?”

David holds up one finger. “I know your son.” He holds up another. “I know _you_.” A third. “You two are amazing parents, and there’s no way you would have another kid without hyping Frankie up for it at _length_ and making sure he didn’t feel left out or forgotten.”

“What if they hate me?” Sean repeats, just above a whisper.

“They won’t hate you,” says David. “Frankie and Leah both adore you.” He opens his arms and Sean falls into them, his head on David’s chest. “Sean, do _you_ want to have another kid?”

Sean shrugs halfheartedly. “I don’t not want to. I just – I’m always so worried I’m a shit parent, you know? Like, why would I want to bring another kid into this if I’m already going to ruin Frankie’s life?”

“Sean Conlon, you are _not_ going to ruin Frankie’s life,” David says firmly. “You care so much about doing right by that kid, and you are _such_ a good father.”

“It always seems like it comes so easy to you and Tony.”

“It doesn’t and you know it. None of us are perfect parents, we just have to keep trying.”

Sean takes a shuddering breath. David doesn’t say anything for a while, just runs one hand up and down Sean’s spine until his breathing evens out.

“Have you told Tony how you’re feeling?”

“I – no.” Sean pulls away from David, shifting so his feet are underneath him and they’re looking eye-to-eye. “No! Davey, you kiddin’ me?”

“Now I know something’s wrong,” David says with a small laugh. “You never call me Davey.”

“I’m spillin’ my soul here, Daves,” Sean says, frowning.

David pats his shoulder. “I know. Just trying to break some tension. Why haven’t you told Tony?”

Sean sighs. He picks at the ripped knee of his jeans for a moment before he finds his voice again. “I don’t want him feeling like I’m giving in to him on this, you know? I gotta work out what I want and how I’m feeling before I talk to him, because you _know_ how my husband is – if I tell him I’m not sure and then change my mind and say I do want to have another, a little bit’a him’s always gonna think I really _didn’t_ but I didn’t wanna disappoint him.”

Unfortunately, that’s probably true. It’s a less than ideal interaction of Sean and Tony’s respective insecurities that David’s encountered a few times before, and David can see why the idea might be holding Sean back, still –

“I think you need to talk to him about it,” David says. “If the _only_ reservation you have is that you’re not a good enough dad or that number three won’t like you, Tones can help you get your head on straight, and if there’s something more serious you’re worried about then the two of you should talk it out.” He ruffles Sean’s hair, only to get his hand batted away. “I’m pretty sure the point of having a spouse is doing this shit together, Sean.”

“I guess,” Sean replies. He leans back against the couch cushions. “What do _you_ think? About number three, I mean.”

“Don’t think it matters what I think,” David says, shrugging. “But for what it’s worth, you and Tony are great parents, and any kid you end up with would be so lucky to have you. And if you do decide you want another, you’ll have me and Jack right here to help you out.”

“Thanks, Daves,” says Sean.

David puts a hand over Sean’s. “We’re family, Sean.” He pats Sean’s hand again, then nods toward the TV. “Wanna watch a movie? We still got some time before Jack, Tones, and the kids get home, and you look like you could use some mindless nonsense.”

Sean nods, smiling weakly. “Raiders?”

“You read my mind,” David replies.

\--

HCJKNDWHFC is a Saturday in mid-December, between Hanukkah and Christmas and the winter showcase at the dance studio. Jack stays over the night before – HCJKNDWHFC Eve – and all four of them wear matching appropriately generic winter snowflake pajamas to bed.

They wake up on HCJKNDWHFC Day to Leah landing on them, not an unusual occurrence but for the fact that it’s dawn and Les threw her at them.

She drags the three adults across the hall, after David stops to put the cinnamon rolls they spent last night working on into the oven and sets a timer on his phone. Tony and Frankie are waiting for them when they walking, also wearing matching snowflake pajamas.

Sean’s in the kitchen, still looking half asleep, making coffee.

(Also in matching snowflake pajamas.)

Les joins him, whipping up some hot chocolate for the kids.

This year’s HCJKNDWHFC is no different from other HCJNDWHFCs, but for the fact that Jack is here and it puts a warm feeling in David’s chest. There are presents and cinnamon rolls and weird old secular Christmas specials that David has never understood but Tony is _obsessed_ with.

Jack’s gifts for the kids prove most popular – a small easel for each of them, and some art supplies with a promise of lessons from him. It’s not hard for that to win out when most of the rest of your presents are clothes, though.

If he were with any other people in the world, the amount of time he spent with his family on HCJKNDWHFC would probably be an overwhelmingly long day of socialization. They’d gotten up practically at sunrise, and wouldn’t go to bed until Leah and Frankie fell asleep on the floor playing barbies. But there is no one in the world David would rather spend a day with – even an absurdly long day – than this family.

He’s tucked between Jack and Tony on the couch, laughing at a story Sean is telling about one of his coworkers while Les leans against his legs and Leah and Frankie play. It’s loud and messy and there’s wrapping paper everywhere and David wouldn’t have it any other way.

“How was your first Higgins-Conlon-Jacobs-Kelly Non-Denominational Winter Holiday Family Celebration, Jackie?” David asks later, tipping his head back where it’s laying on Jack’s shoulder so he can look at his face.

Jack grins. “Great, love. Perfect.” He chuckles. “Have you considered renaming it?”

“Every year,” says David. “Tony won’t let us.”

“Of course he won’t.”

“I’m really glad you were here for it, Jack.”

Jack’s hand finds its way into David’s hair, playing idly with his curls. “Yeah, Davey. I’m glad too.”


	6. The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took me a little longer, which is partially because I scrapped it partway through and started over and partially because I spent a huge chunk of this weekend not writing at all. Sorry for the delay!

Jack’s pretty excited. He and Davey don’t get to go out out with their friends super often, between work and wedding planning and Leah. Not that Jack minds any of that – he’s perfectly content to spend evenings in on Davey’s couch – but it’s going to be fun to be out with everybody. Les has eyes on the kiddos, so Davey, Race, and Spot (and Jack) can all be out enjoying themselves without worrying. Les is responsible and, like, mostly an adult.

Anyway all this is to say that Jack is pumped.

One of Jack’s high school friends is in town for the first time in ages, which is a perfect excuse to get the whole crew together and hang out for a few hours. It’s a friend Davey hasn’t met, but Davey’s been doing better with the way his friends like to introduce themselves so Jack’s not too worried.

Which is why the stricken look on Davey’s face when Buttons stands up, hand out and already introducing himself really throws Jack for a loop.

“Hey! You must be the boy toy! I’m Buttons, I dated Jack in –“ Buttons seems to actually register Davey’s appearance, then, because he takes a hard left turn into, “holy _shit_ , Dave Jacobs? Is that you?”

“ _Benny_?” Davey says, eyes wide and body language full of undisguised anxiety.

Buttons throws his arms around Davey. “Aw, man, Dave! I haven’t seen you in _years_ , where have you been keeping yourself?”

“Here and there,” Davey says. He steps back toward Jack as soon as he’s released from the hug. “You know.”

“Hold up, hold _up_ ,” Buttons says, looking from Davey to Jack. “You _are_ the new boy toy, aren’t you? How the hell did you meet Jack?”

“Bumped into him on the street outside his kid’s dance class,” Jack says. “You two know each other?”

“College,” Davey says, and it’s just this tiny shadow of his usual voice. Something clicks for Jack then – the tension in Davey’s shoulders, the shake in his voice, the color that drained out of his face as soon as he recognized Buttons.

“Oh my god, how is Leah?” Buttons asks, apparently oblivious to Davey’s growing distress. “She’s gotta be, what, six now? Seven?”

“She’ll be seven in February,” says Davey.

Buttons lets out a low whistle. “Shit, man, it’s already been seven years since we graduated. That’s wild, ain’t it?”

“Wild,” Davey echoes.

The three of them rejoin the others at the table, and Jack pulls Davey toward where Spot and Race are sitting, fortunately on the opposite side to where Buttons’s seat is. Race seems to have noticed the oddness of the interaction, and both of them see the tension in Davey’s whole being. Jack can breathe a little easier knowing they’re on Davey’s other side from him; Race and Spot are nothing if not protective of Davey.

Things are relaxing back into a more normal vibe, Davey even loosening up enough to join the conversation, when the girls arrive.

Buttons is on his feet again as soon as somebody flags them down. “Hey, I’m Buttons, I dated Jack in high school.”

“I’m Sarah, junior year of college,” Sarah says, shaking his hand.

“Kath, I – oh.” Katherine goes white. Her eyes flick from Buttons to Davey, who has gone very still again. “Hi, Benny.”

“It _is_ you,” Buttons says. He looks from Katherine to Davey as well. “Lordy, never thought I’d see the two’a you in the same place again.”

“Benny,” Katherine says, her voice low, “could you –“

“Wait, Buttons, how do you know Kath?” Romeo asks, head cocked to one side inquisitively.

“She’s a college bud,” Buttons says. He frowns. “Did they not –“

“Benny,” Davey cuts in.

“Shit, Dave, I’m sorry,” says Buttons.

“Why’s he sorry?” Race hisses. Davey shakes his head. “Daves, you never told us you and Kathy went to –“

Jack can see in his eyes the exact moment when the reason must click for Race. His eyes go wide and he grabs Davey’s hand under the table.

Davey must realize he’s connected the dots, too, because he gives Race a shaky nod.

“Shit, Daves,” Race says, his voice still low. “We gotta talk later, okay? At home.”

“Yeah, okay,” says Davey. He stands up, moving over toward his sister, Katherine, and Buttons. “Katie, I texted you, did you not see?”

Katherine shakes her head. “I must’ve missed it.”

“I’m missing something here,” says Buttons.

“You’n me both!” calls Albert.

“Ben, we’ve told everybody that we met when Kate met her wife,” Davey says. He gestures toward his sister. “Sarah, here, is my twin sister.”

“Shit, sorry,” says Buttons.

Everyone is watching them. It’s tense, slightly awkward. There’s an uncomfortable _something_ hanging over the whole group.

Davey looks at Jack, like he’s looking for something, and maybe he finds it because he takes a steadying breath and turns toward the table at large. “Kathy and I met in college. We don’t like to talk about it because she _knows Leah’s mother_ and I think understandably that’s not something I feel comfortable bringing up.”

Buttons glances toward Katherine, but nods. “Right, okay. Sorry, guys.”

“You didn’t know,” Katherine says. “Hey, how long are you in town? We’re getting together with Bill and Darcy soon.”

“Couple weeks,” says Buttons. “Be good to see the guys again.”

“For sure,” says Katherine.

Buttons nods. And then, like he can’t quite help himself, he says, “I’m glad to see you two are – are good again.”

“It’s taken a long time,” Davey says quietly. He pats Katherine on the shoulder. “I’m gonna step outside for a minute, I need some air.”

He walks away.

Jack stands up immediately, not needing the sharp looks he gets from Race and Spot to know that he should follow his fiancé. “I’ll be right back, guys.”

Davey is just outside, leaning against a wall with his head tipped back and his eyes shut.

“Hey, love, you okay?”

“Uh, no, actually.”

Jack leans against the wall next to Davey. “You wanna go home?”

“I don’t want to take you away from your friends,” Davey replies. “You were excited about tonight.”

“Yeah,” Jack says, shrugging, “but I’d rather you feel comfortable than stay out. We could do a little impromptu movie night with Les? Bean’s probably already in bed.”

“We can stay, it’s fine,” says Davey. “I just need a minute.”

“I didn’t realize Buttons went to school with you,” Jack says. “You and Kath don’t really talk about your college friends.”

“I just wish I could’ve at least spared Katie, you know?” Davey says. “I texted her as soon as we sat down, but she didn’t see it.”

“The guys ain’t gonna ask about it, you know,” says Jack.

Davey sighs. “Yeah, I know. It’s just been kinda a lot lately. Kate’s been on me about hanging out with the guys for months now, now she and I are, like, okay again. And then _bam_. Benny Davenport is apparently on your list.”

“Who ain’t?” Jack says, trying for a laugh.

It doesn’t come. “Jackie.”

“Davey, you wanna go home?” Jack offers again. “Really. You don’t have to go back in there if you don’t want to.”

“I left my coat on my chair.”

“I’ll text Race.”

“But your friends –“

“Buttons is here a couple weeks,” Jack says firmly. “I can go out for lunch with him sometime to catch up. This dumb night out ain’t worth it if you’re not gonna have fun, love.”

Davey looks at him for a long time before answering, studying his face like he’s looking for a catch. And then, finally, _brokenly_ , he says, “Can we go?”

Jack nods firmly. He pulls his phone out, tapping out a quick text to Race and Spot.

_DUMBASSES_

_Me: Hey Davey ain’t feelin so hot could one of you grab his jacket and bring it out?_

_Me: we’re gonna head home_

_Spotty boy: Race’s got it. Daves okay?_

_Me: he’s been better. he’ll probably wanna see you guys later._

_Spotty boy: we’ll be there._

Race pokes his head out the door, looking around until his eyes land on Jack and Davey. He’s got a concerned look on his face, and when he comes over to them his free hand skims up Davey’s arm to rest on his shoulder. “Heya, Daves. Jack says you ain’t doin’ so good.”

“Just a little tense,” Davey says, and he’s trying to reassure Race, Jack can hear it in his voice. “I’m fine, really.”

Race raises an eyebrow. “David Jacobs, you cannot _lie_ to _me_.”

“No, I guess I can’t,” says Davey. “It’s just a little much, in there. That whole, uh, thing. I just got kinda blindsided, and I need a little time to decompress.” He pauses, glancing at Jack. “Can you and Sean come by sometime tomorrow? I have something I need to tell you.”

“Yeah, Daves,” says Race, still visibly concerned. “Whenever you want.”

“You ready to head out, Davey?” Jack asks. Davey nods, and Race steps back, his hand falling back to his side. Davey takes his coat from Race.

“Lemme know when you two get home, ‘kay?” Race says.

“Course,” says Jack. “Hey, could you tell the others we left ‘cause Les needed help with Leah or somethin’?”

Race nods. “Yeah, I gotcha. See ya later, boys.”

Les is surprised to see them home so early, but doesn’t question it once he sees his brother’s face. He just queues up an Indiana Jones movie and the three of them watch in companionable silence until Davey falls asleep on Jack’s shoulder two thirds of the way through.

“What happened?” Les asks softly, looking at Davey with a mix of worry and sadness.

Jack presses a kiss to Davey’s hair. “Turns out we have an old friend in common. Somebody who knows Leah-bee’s mom.”

Les winces. “Shit.”

“I think he’s mostly alright,” Jack says. “Just thrown a little off balance, you know?”

“Yeah,” says Les. “Fuck, Jack, he keeps all that stuff so close to the chest, but I know it’s still really painful. You two’ve been together a while, I dunno how much he’s told you, but – like, shit. I was fourteen when Lee was born and _I_ knew how fucked up he was. He doesn’t talk to any of his college friends at all.” He reaches for Davey, putting a hand on his knee just for a small point of contact. “He’s gonna say he’s fine and shit, ‘cause he’s Davey, but you gotta look out for him, okay?”

“I will,” Jack says. “Promise.”

Les nods. “I know you will. You’re good for him.”

The movie ends, and Davey is still asleep. Jack considers waking him, but the other man looks like he desperately needs this rest. Instead, Jack shifts Davey’s weight around so he can lift him up – maybe not Jack’s best decision, because Davey is six feet tall and not especially light, but manageable – and carry him into his bedroom.

Davey doesn’t stir when Jack sets him on the bed. Jack kicks his jeans off, digging through Davey’s drawers for a pair of soft, old pajama pants. He’s about to crawl onto the bed next to Davey, but then realizes how uncomfortable Davey will be if he sleeps in his jeans. Jack grabs another pair of pajama pants, and sets to carefully peeling Davey’s jeans off of him. He ultimately gives up on _re_ dressing Davey, after almost waking him taking the jeans off. He’ll be comfortable enough in just his boxers, anyway, as long as Jack snuggles close and they keep the blankets on.

Jack falls asleep curled around Davey, wishing his fiancé could look this relaxed when he’s awake.

\--

David wakes up the morning after the disastrous run in with Benny tangled in Jack’s arms, in his t-shirt from yesterday and his boxers. There’s a pair of unworn, discarded pajama pants in a pile near the jeans David knows he fell asleep wearing, and he figures Jack must’ve given up halfway through trying to change David’s clothes while he was sleeping.

He smiles, a warm feeling flaring in his chest at the effort to make sure David slept comfortably, even if it wasn’t quite followed through. Jack could easily have woken David to change – hell, he could’ve woken Davey to get him from the living room to the bed, but he didn’t. And all this after willingly opting to leave a fun evening with his friends behind in favor of making sure David felt stable and safe.

(He wishes, desperately, that he hadn’t _needed_ to leave last night; he wishes that shaky, breathless feeling that he couldn’t shake would just go away and he could be a normal person with normal friends and have his heart stop at the sight of two of his former best friends in the same room for the first time in six and a half years.)

It’s a level of care and consideration David hasn’t felt in a long time, and he’s not sure he deserves it.

He slips out of Jack’s arms and out of bed, pulling on the pajama pants Jack got out for him. The least he can do is surprise Jack with a nice breakfast, right?

Les is up already when David leaves the bedroom.

“Hey, you’re looking better,” Les says.

“I’m feeling better,” says David.

“Jack said you ran into a college friend?” says Les. David can see from the look on his face that he understands _college friend_ to mean _someone who was there when your life fell apart_.

David starts pulling together ingredients for French toast. “Yeah, it was – I mean, I was just kind of caught off guard.”

Les nods. “Well if you ever want to talk about it, Davey, you know I’m right here, right?”

“I know,” says David. “Thanks, but I really wish I could just – not forget about it, you know, but be okay? Normal? I don’t know.”

“You don’t have to be okay,” Les says, shrugging. “It was this huge, complicated thing that changed your life forever. You don’t _have_ to get over it.”

“I just want to be able to live my life without having to think about it,” David replies. “But sometimes it feels like lately all I can do is think about it.” He sighs, shaking his head. “You wanna help with this?”

“Sure.” Les comes into the kitchen and starts taking dishes out. “Remember, we’ve got Frankie.”

“Which means we’ll have Sean and Tony before long,” David says, nodding. “Alright, breakfast for seven, here we go.”

Sure enough, Sean and Tony come over before the smell of food even wakes the kids.

Tony gravitates toward David as soon as they’re in the apartment, channeling his clear concern for David into hovering around and bouncing on his toes. Sean just leans on the counter, chatting idly with Les while they wait on the food.

The kids are up next, thundering out of Leah’s bedroom at top speed. Les catches Frankie before he can barrel into David or Tony at the stove, and Sean scoops Leah into a hug.

The noise seems to finally rouse Jack, who wanders out of David’s room still looking sleepy and disheveled. He’s just in time, because David is ready to serve up the food. With some help from the adults, David moves the food to the dining table, and once everyone’s settled in to eat David can’t help but marvel at how much better he feels now.

This is pretty much the exact opposite of how he felt last night at the bar. Last night he’d been anxious, unsteady, and ever so slightly terrified. Here, in his dining room with the midmorning sun pouring in through the window and his family scarfing down breakfast, David feels nothing but content and stable. It’s hard to feel anything else.

He puts his hand over Jack’s on the table. Jack turns to him and grins, this bright, blinding smile that makes David’s heart sing.

David lets himself sink into this moment, and not worry about the conversation he owes Sean and Tony later, or what Benny and Kate might’ve said once he left last night. This is bright and happy and easy and he can almost convince himself that he deserves that, just for a moment.

“Hey, kiddos have class with Albert today, right?” Jack says to the table at large.

“Uh huh,” says Leah, around a massive bite of French toast. “Tap.”

“Leah Marie,” Tony says firmly. He taps his cheek with his finger, his meaning of _don’t talk with your mouth full_ clear.

Leah swallows her food. “Sorry.”

“Thank you, Leah,” says Tony. “What were you telling Jack?”

“We have tap today,” Leah says. She takes a sip of her orange juice. “Why?”

“Just wonderin’,” says Jack. He gives David a meaningful look, then nods toward Sean and Tony. “I could take drive’em, if you want? I gotta head past the studio anyway, got plans with Crutchie later.”

“Sounds like a plan,” says Sean. He makes a point of looking over at David, too. “Be nice to have a little extra time to get stuff done, eh? And the kids always love their Jack time, isn’t that right?”

Leah and Frankie both cheer.

So that becomes the plan. They have a fairly lazy morning which, as always, becomes a scramble when it’s time to get the kids changed and out the door. Though, fortunately, it’s out the door and into the care of someone else, so David doesn’t have to worry about it too much.

In the chaos of getting ready, David sends a text.

_To: K_

_Ok if I tell S & T?_

But it’s not until the kids are out the door and he’s curled on Sean and Tony’s couch with a mug of tea that he gets a response.

_From: K_

_You don’t have to ask me, Day._

_If you want them to know it’s okay with me._

“You feelin’ alright, Daves?” Sean asks. He’s sitting on an armchair, with one leg curled under him and the other draped across the arm. “You’re lookin’ a little pale.”

“Yeah,” says David. He shifts a little in his seat so he’s a little more upright. “I have something I want to talk to you guys about.”

“About last night?” asks Tony. He’s next to David on the couch, and he turns so he’s sitting on his knees facing David. “You looked like you were gonna throw up when Buttons mentioned you and Kath went to school together.”

“I kinda thought I was going to,” David admits. “There’s something I haven’t told you guys, but I think – I think I want you to know.”

“What’s up, David?” Sean asks, frowning.

“It’s about Leah’s mom.”

\--

A week later, David is hyping himself up for lunch with some of his college friends. Kate – Kath – of course, but also Bill and Darcy and Benny. It’ll be fine, right? Nothing to worry about. He’s run into Bill and Darcy a couple of times since they got back from Europe at the end of the summer, since they’re still good friends with Kath, and she’s been dying to get them together properly for months. Benny being in town seems to have been the perfect catalyst for actually getting their little gang back together.

He has Les take a picture of his outfit to send to Jack.

_Me: [PHOTO]_

_Me: does this outfit say ‘sorry I cut you out of my life for six years because I couldn’t dissociate you from the worst thing that’s ever happened to me hopefully we’re cool again’ to you?_

_Jack: idk about that but you look hot_

_Jack: were you trying to look hot_

_Me: I was trying to look well-adjusted._

_Jack: you look fine davey_

_Me: thank you._

_Jack: don’t work yourself up alright it’s gonna be fine. Buttons was real happy to see you. Don’t see why that would’ve changed_

_Me: thanks, Jack._

_Jack: lemme know if you want a rescue, okay? Shoot me a text and I’ll call with a desperate need for you to go someplace else._

_Me: lol I don’t think it’ll be that bad_

_Jack: good. Offer stands if you want it_

_Me: I love you._

_Jack: love you too, davey_

With that little bit of reassurance, David almost thinks he’ll be able to handle this. And if he can’t, well, apparently he’s got an out.

Lunch actually goes shockingly well. Short the surprise of running into Benny without being able to brief him about their lie, it’s really easy to fall back into conversation with the boys.

He even lets himself be a little more relaxed around Kath than he has been in a long time, and it’s kind of freeing.

“Man, I can’t believe you’re marrying Jack Kelly,” Benny says, running his hands through his hair. “More because I can’t quite imagine the guy settling down than anything, although the coincidence of you ending up with one of my high school friends is pretty wild.”

“Another one of your – what did you call them, Davey? – your near misses, right?” Katherine says.

David nods. “Yeah, definitely a near miss. But, like, if we’d’a met in college I doubt anything would’a happened. At least not right away.” He nods toward Katherine. “First of all, I was, like, embarrassingly in love with Katie. But Jack actually dated my sister around the same time.”

“You’re kidding me,” says Darcy. “The man you’re marrying dated Sarah?”

“The woman Sarah married dated me,” David says, laughing. “Near misses, I’m telling you. You know how I said I’m basically co-parenting with the couple across the hall? They’re Jack’s brother and his husband.”

Bill laughs. “You don’t do anything by halves, do you, Jacobs? Everything’s a production.”

“Yeah, well. I’m sorry that meant I didn’t talk to you guys for so long,” David says, glancing at Katherine. “I don’t think I could’ve done this a year ago.”

“Hey, I don’t blame you, man,” says Benny. “Just maybe don’t shut us out _again_ and we’ll call it even, eh?”

David smiles, and he feels almost normal doing it. “Yeah, I think I can promise that.”


	7. Santa Fe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who finally managed a chapter that's mostly about Jack! THIS GIRL.

See, the annoying thing about planning a wedding is that you have to, you know.

Plan a wedding.

Jack is honestly deeply, deeply tempted to grab Davey and Leah and go run off somewhere, but he knows his mother would not appreciate the lack of invite.

So here Jack is, scrolling through potential venues for what feels like the four hundredth hour in a row. He can’t remember what it feels like to not be looking at pictures of large halls – and, realistically, he can’t fathom what the practical difference between most of them is.

“Please, Jack,” Davey says, pinching the bridge of his nose, “look less like you want to die over this.”

“What if I do want to die over this?” Jack asks. He sets his laptop on the coffee table and flops across Davey’s lap. “What if I died right here and now because I couldn’t handle looking at another big room full of tables?”

Davey’s hand finds its way into Jack’s hair, seemingly of its own volition, while Davey looks down at Jack with a mixture of fondness and exasperation. “I’d have to get Sean to help me hide the body. People would talk, you know.”

“You’d miss me wouldn’cha?” Jack says. He arches his neck a little to lean into Davey’s touch. Davey traces aimless shapes onto his scalp, and Jack sighs audibly from how nice it feels. He hums. “Lord, Davey, I’d miss you.”

Davey laughs. “You are something else, Jack Kelly.”

“This is what you signed up for, Davey Jacobs,” Jack replies, grinning. He catches David’s hand with his own, playing with the ring on Davey’s finger. “You’re stuck with me.”

“It’s not too late to change my mind,” Davey says, deadpan.

Jack sits up, gasping dramatically. “You wouldn’t.”

“I wouldn’t,” Davey agrees. “I’m awfully attached to you.”

“Aw, man,” says Jack. “Same!”

Davey laughs, then leans forward to kiss Jack. “We have a wedding to plan, Jackie.”

“I really hoped you were going to forget about that,” says Jack.

Davey kisses him again, long and sweet. “I know you did.”

Jack sighs and pulls his laptop back onto his lap. “Okay, hotel ballrooms? Or outdoors somewhere?”

\--

“You’re never home anymore.”

“Sorry, darlin’,” Jack says, leaning on Crutchie’s bedroom doorframe. “Can I make it up to you?”

Crutchie laughs. “Make dinner and binge watch the Clone Wars with me. It’s been like a hundred years since we just hung out.”

“We hung out like four days ago,” Jack protests.

“We sat in the same room and ignored each other four days ago,” Crutchie corrects.

“That’s hanging out!” says Jack. “That’s definitely hanging out. I enjoy comfortable silence with you, Charlie Morris. That’s a love language right there.”

“Comfortable silence?” says Crutchie, rolling his eyes. “Look, Jack, I like just hanging around you quietly, too, but like. You’re my best friend and we’re only gonna live together a few more months so can we _please_ just have a fun night in?”

Jack smiles, a little sadly. “Yeah, Crutch. Whatever you wanna do.”

They make a real dinner together like grown ups – nothing complicated, but definitely more than they would’ve done ten years ago – and settle in on their couch. Jack and Crutchie watched this show together as teenagers, and Jack knows Crutchie’s been watching back through it now that he’s got the time and a streaming service that carries the show. He’s caught an episode here and there, but hasn’t actually sat down to watch a bunch in sequence with his friend in a while.

It’s odd to think that in a few months Jack won’t live with Crutchie anymore. They’ve lived together for a little over ten years now – they requested each other for roommates freshman year of college and never looked back. Even before then, in high school, when they weren’t together at Medda’s house, they were together at Crutchie’s Uncle Bryan’s. Jack’s been sharing space with Crutchie since they were thirteen.

“Oh my god, Crutch, is this the end of an era?”

“No, Jack, it’s the middle of an episode.”

“No, no, Crutchie,” Jack says, pausing the TV. “Charlie. Man. This is the end of an era.”

“Are you having a moment?” Crutchie replies, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes,” says Jack. “Dude, we’ve been living in each other’s pockets since we _met_.”

“I’m not going to disappear when you get married, Jacky,” says Crutchie. He pulls his leg up to his chest, hugging it to him. “You barely live here anymore, anyway.”

“Sorry,” Jack says.

“No, don’t be sorry,” says Crutchie. “I don’t, like, resent it or anything. I’ve watched you try for _years_ to find something meaningful and lasting, and you finally did. If I were anything but happy for you I’d be, like, the worst best friend on the planet.”

“Still, I didn’t mean to, like, drop out of our friendship,” Jack insists.

Crutchie shrugs. “You’ve been figuring out how you fit in with Davey’s family. That’s okay.” He nudges Jack’s arm. “I still see you plenty, Jack. I was just teasing before. You know that, right?”

Jack nods. “I – yeah.”

“We’re best friends, Jack,” Crutchie says simply. “I have stuck with you through twenty-one partners including Davey – twenty-two if you count both times with me separately –“

“Twenty-two?” Jack interrupts.

“Give or take one or two in college,” Crutchie says, waving him off. “Anyway, twenty-two partners, fifteen years of friendship, something like a decade of living together. Just because you’re moving to a different apartment does not mean I’m gonna suddenly disappear. It ain’t the end of an era, Jacky. Just the start of a new chapter.”

“I didn’t realize you were still counting,” Jack says in a low voice.

“Jack!” Crutchie smacks his arm. “I know it’s hard, but I really need you to focus for a sec, okay? We can go to Santa Fe over your relationships in a minute.”

Jack physically shakes off the weighty, sticky feeling that seeped in as soon as Crutchie mentioned his absolute armada of exes. “Right, sorry.”

“You with me?”

“I’m with you.”

“I love you, Jack,” Crutchie says. “We always knew we weren’t going to live together forever. But you movin’ out doesn’t mean we won’t still hang out, we can even still have dumb chill nights like this. Okay?”

“Okay,” says Jack. “I love you, too, Crutch.”

“I know.” Crutchie pats Jack’s knee. “Do we need to go to Santa Fe?”

Jack takes a few breaths, slow and mostly steady. _Go to Santa Fe_ has been Crutchie’s shorthand for working through Jack’s issues ever since Jack decided to spend his late teens buried in stormy desert landscapes instead of talking about his feelings.

“Twenty-two?” Jack repeats, finally.

“It’s a loose count,” Crutchie says. “And twenty-two includes me twice.”

“Because I _dated you_ twice.”

“When we were fifteen, Jack,” says Crutchie. “What’s the hangup here? I wanna help you, bud, but like. You gotta give me something to work with.”

“Fuck, Chuck, I dunno,” says Jack. The old nickname just slips out, and Jack knows _Crutchie_ knows he’s deep, deep in his own head right now.

Crutchie taps Jack’s knee. “Numbers or Davey, Jack?”

Leave it to Crutchie to cut through the fog. He’s always been good at that. “Numbers.”

Twenty-two people. One repeat. (Twenty-one.) One Davey. (Twenty.)

Twenty people who’d decided Jack wasn’t good enough; not that they were wrong, but it stings. _Twenty_ people.

“You had some wrong fits,” Crutchie says.

“A lot of wrong fits. An embarrassing number of wrong fits,” Jack corrects. “Maybe _I’m_ the wrong fit, Crutchie.”

“There is _nothing_ wrong with you, Jack Kelly,” Crutchie firmly replies. “And there’s nothing embarrassing about dating around. Plus, like, upwards of half of those people are still your good friends who love you.”

“You know how many people Davey’s dated, Crutchie?” Jack asks. “ _Three_. Some chick early in college, K- Leah’s mom, me.”

“I didn’t realize it was a competition,” says Crutchie. “Davey’s had plenty of his own drama in his life, Jacky. You know that.” He taps Jack’s knee again, trying to reel his attention back in. “You two have had very different lives till now; that’s okay. S’just about what’cha do with the life you have _together_ that matters, right?”

Jack takes another long, slow breath. “I guess.”

“I’m right, Jack. Please acknowledge.”

“You’re right, Crutch.”

Crutchie leans forward and brushes a bit of Jack’s hair over his ear. “You wanna go back to the cartoon, or do you need to paint about it?”

Jack weighs his options – he is, actually, kind of dying to hole up in his room and paint for a couple of hours until he forgets why he feels so shitty, but that probably means it’s not the healthy option. On the other hand, he can sink back into the couch and the moment with his best friend and watch a show he used to love and maybe he’ll come out on the other side feeling a little less like he’s had the wind knocked out of him.

“The show,” Jack says.

Crutchie nods. “Jack?”

“Yeah, Crutch?”

“You okay?”

“I’m okay.”

Crutchie shifts back toward the TV, reaching for the remote. “Does Davey know? About Santa Fe?”

“A little,” Jack says. He settles against Crutchie’s side, his head on his friend’s shoulder.

“You should tell him.”

“Maybe, Chuck.”

“I’ll take it.”

\--

_Davey: Hey, love. You feeling okay? Charlie said you’ve been under the weather_

_Me: I’m fine_

_Me: gettin a lot of painting done_

_Davey: take care of yourself_

_Me: I always do_

_Davey: I have it on good authority you do not._

_Me: Crutchie always does?_

_Davey: that sounds more like it._

_Me: don’t worry abt me davey_

_Davey: I think it’s my job. I’m marrying you, after all._

_Davey: do you want me to swing by after work? Can bring snacks and/or my undying affection?_

_Me: you know what? Yes. Please. Can Bee spare you?_

_Davey: Bean has a playdate w/ a classmate. Sean says he’ll get her._

_Me: see u then, love you_

_Davey: I love you, Jackie. Feel better._

_\--_

David pokes his head around the cubicle wall. “Hey, I’m following you home today. You about ready to go?”

“Thank god, Jack’s been miserable,” Charlie replies. He stands up, leaning on his desk for balance. “He was having a down day already and _then_ he got sick, and he hasn’t seen you in like a week.”

They walk together out of their office, toward the elevator.

David laughs. “I can imagine.”

“He’s a baby when he’s sick, just so you know,” says Charlie. “It doesn’t happen often, but he can’t handle it for crap. I never talk to his ma as much as I do when he’s sick.”

“Thanks for the heads up,” says David. “Is there anything I can do for him that’ll help?”

“Just get him in bed and resting,” says Charlie. “He paints like crazy when he doesn’t feel great, because it keeps him distracted from feeling shitty, but it always means he’s in bad shape longer because he won’t just _rest_.”

“Rest, got it,” David says.

Before they split up to go to their cars, Charlie catches David’s arm. “You should know, Davey, he does this when he has down days, too.”

“Does he have those a lot?”

“Less than he used to.”

“Thanks, Charlie.”

\--

“Hey, you,” David says, leaning on Jack’s doorframe.

Jack has looked better. He’s a little pale, with dark circles under his eyes and a faint sheen to his skin like he’d been sweating, just visible under the smudges of paint across his arms and face. But he still lights up when he sees David, which David’s going to count as a win.

“Davey!” Jack says, grinning.

“Hey, Jackie,” David replies. “I was instructed not to bring you snacks, because Charlie’s making dinner.”

“Aw.”

David moves into the room, coming up behind Jack and sliding his arms around his fiance’s neck in a loose hug. He rests his chin on Jack’s shoulder, looking at the painting he was working on when David came in. Clear midday skies over rocky desert – cool-leaning blues and warm-leaning oranges. It’s pretty, and David can tell he’s been at it a while.

“Come to bed?” David asks. “You’ll feel better if you’ve slept.”

“I’ve slept,” says Jack.

“Not enough,” says David. He clicks his tongue. “Come on, Jackie. I haven’t seen you in days.” He steps back, away from Jack and toward the bed. “Fine. You keep painting, then. _I_ am going to have a lovely nap in your bed until I have to go home.”

He makes a point of kicking his shoes off and crawling under the covers, rolling over away from Jack.

It doesn’t take long for the mattress to sink again, Jack sliding under the blankets with him.

David rolls onto his back, opening his left arm for Jack to tuck himself against David’s side. Jack’s a little warmer than usual but not concerningly feverish, and he seems to fall asleep as soon as his head is on David’s chest. David wraps his arm around Jack’s shoulders, letting his cheek fall against the top of Jack’s head.

He has a few hours; Leah is at a friend’s house until four-thirty, then Sean’s picking her up and he and Tony will feed her dinner. Les would put her to bed if David didn’t get home in time, but he doesn’t plan to stay quite that long. Still, he has time – Leah knows Jack has been sick, and Sean will tell her that David is taking care of him, so he won’t be especially missed at home. Leah prefers Frankie’s company to his anyway.

David doesn’t realize he’s falling asleep until he wakes up to Charlie tapping gently on the bedroom door.

“Hey, guys,” Charlie says. “Dinner’s ready. S’cool if you wanna keep sleeping, though.”

“No, he needs to eat something,” David says. He nudges Jack, who is still wrapped around him much more than usual. Jack lets out a low whine. “Jackie, love, Charlie made dinner. Wake up.”

“Warm.”

“I know, Jack,” says David. “But you’ve got to get up.”

“Nooo.”

“Have you eaten today?”

“No.”

“Then you’re getting up, come on,” David says. He shifts a little, getting an elbow under Jack so he can push himself up and then pull Jack with him. Jack leans sleepily against him. “Sweetheart, you can come back to bed after dinner.”

“In fact, you have to,” Charlie adds. He comes into the room and helps David get Jack situated and a little more awake. David all but shoves Jack off of the bed, ultimately, to Charlie’s great amusement.

The three of them have a quiet dinner of bowtie pasta eaten with tablespoons (because all the forks and small spoons are dirty), curled on the couch instead of at the table. Jack is still clearly half asleep, but he manages not to nod off while he’s eating. By the time David comes back to the couch from putting their bowls in the dishwasher, he’s asleep again.

David kneels next to the couch. He presses a small kiss to Jack’s forehead, avoiding the wide stripe of orange paint that runs from his hairline to his nose under his left eye. He puts a hand on Jack’s shoulder, shaking gently. “Jackie, love, can you get up one more time for me? Just to get back to bed?”

Jack groans, but he opens his eyes, blinking at the brightness of the ceiling light.

“Come on, Jackie,” David says, his voice quiet and coaxing. “I can’t carry you.”

“I carried you,” Jack says sleepily.

“You’re stronger than me,” David points out. He kisses Jack’s face again. “Please get up, love? It’s go to bed now or sleep on the couch, because you know Charlie’s just going to leave you here and I have to go home.”

Charlie laughs, but does not dispute David’s statement.

“Could stay,” Jack says, slowly pushing himself back into a seated position before letting David help him up.

“Leah,” says David.

Jack hums. “I guess.”

David pokes his side playfully. “Yeah, you _guess_. That’s your future child we’re talking about. She has priority, even over you.”

“I know,” Jack says. “Wouldn’t want it any other way.” He yawns, leaning a little more on David. “Just wish you didn’t have to leave to look after her.”

“Couple months, love,” says David.

That wins a soft smile from Jack.

David gets him settled back in his bed, wrapped in blankets, and presses one last kiss to Jack’s forehead. “Call me when you’re feeling better, okay? Leah and Frankie are dying to see you, maybe we can have a picnic or something.”

“Sound’s good, Davey,” Jack replies.

“I love you,” David says.

“Love you,” echoes Jack.

Charlie is still in the living room when David crosses back through to leave. “Hey, man, thanks for coming over.”

“Of course,” says David. “I know it’s only been a few days since I’ve seen him so this is going to sound really dumb, but I’ve missed him.”

“That’s not dumb, it’s sweet,” Charlie replies. “Like, kinda disgustingly sweet. You two are adorable in the worst possible way.”

David laughs. “Glad to know we have your approval.”

“You’ve had my approval since you agreed to go out with him after he spilled coffee all over you,” Charlie says, smiling. “You’re good for him, and he deserves somebody who’ll look out for him.”

“Yeah,” says David. “He does.”

“I won’t keep you any longer,” Charlie says. He snags a book off the side table and opens it to a marked page. “Just wanted you to know. Say hi to the kids for me.”

“I will,” David replies. “See you tomorrow.”

“See ya.”


	8. The Birthdays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's a little shorter, but it's all about the relationships :)

Spot turns 29 in January.

They’ve made less and less of a deal of birthdays as they’ve gotten older, because such is aging, but Jack has learned that there’s usually a quiet family dinner amongst the Higgins-Conlon-Jacobses. More importantly, he’s been _invited_.

(It’s a stark difference to last year – Spot’s birthday last year fell in the awkward, early stages post-break up/make up, Race’s just a few weeks later. Jack was invited for Davey’s birthday dinner in April, but it hadn’t felt right to go. He’d taken Davey out a few days earlier just the two of them instead.)

It’s a funny thing, being invited to his brother’s birthday party. It kind of makes Jack feel like he’s in high school again. But there was Race’s text, dated this year and perfectly casual like this isn’t completely outside of their norm.

_From: Racetrack_

_Hey Cowboy_

_Dinner 4 Spot @ 6 on the 25 th. B there or b rectangle._

“Davey, what does this mean?” Jack had said when it came in, tipping his phone toward Davey for his fiancé to read.

“Spot’s birthday,” Davey reminded him. “That’s Tones inviting you to family dinner.”

“Oh, right.”

At some point Jack is sure he’ll stop being surprised at his inclusion in family events, but it that day hasn’t come yet. It’s really only been since he proposed last summer that he’s been invited – no, expected – to family dinners and outings that are more than just Davey and Leah (and, occasionally, Les). There’s a fuzzy, warm feeling in his chest every time he lets himself really think about it.

Les had put it to words, hadn’t he, all those months ago? This was Davey really letting Jack in fully – he’d trusted Jack with his heart and his secrets and his _daughter_ , but this is Davey trusting Jack with his support system and the relationships that run the deepest. This is Davey opening himself up, weak spots and all, and letting Jack get tangled up in the parts of his life he can’t untangle from if things were to go wrong.

Plus there’s the Race and Spot situation.

Jack has always been on good terms with Spot, at least since they got out of their angsty teen years. Race has been Jack’s friend since he’d transferred into Race and Crutchie’s school in seventh grade. This is different, though.

This is Race and Spot as adults, as parents, as intimate friends in the sense of people who share everything including their lives. This is Race and Spot as Davey’s family first – as _Tony and Sean_ , Davey’s family first.

Spot has been Jack’s brother for fourteen years, but he’s never meant to Jack what he means to Davey.

It’s been something like forging a brand new relationship with two of his oldest friends, ever since he got involved with Davey. It’s not a bad thing, just odd. Never what Jack would’ve expected.

They’ve had dinner already, and sung over chocolate cupcakes that Race insisted on stabbing with a candle despite Spot’s protests. Leah and Frankie have each given Sean a hug and a kiss on the cheek and run off to play legos in Frankie’s room.

Spot’s leaning back in his chair, the front legs kicked off of the ground much to Davey’s distress. “S’been a good year.”

Race raises his drink as if toast to that – the sentiment not lost for the fact that the drink is apple juice. “Hopefully this one is, too. Last year’a your twenties.”

“Your husband’s an old man, Racer,” Jack teases.

“Sure acts like it sometimes,” says Race. “We all know he’s only with me ‘cause he wanted a younger man.”

Davey snorts. “I thought he just wanted somebody to reach stuff down from high shelves.”

“Nah,” Race says. “He’s got you for that.”

Davey is only about two inches taller than Race, at six foot even. “He didn’t know he’d find me when he married you.”

“Dave’s got a point, Tones,” Spot says. “You’re lucky I didn’t divorce you and marry him for the extra height.”

This is one of those times where Jack’s hyperaware of the differences between Davey’s Sean and Tony and Jack’s Race and Spot. Spot gets teased for his height (barely five foot four) constantly by their friends, but he _never_ plays along, leaning into his role as the group’s resident grump instead. He doesn’t laugh along and add to the joke. He doesn’t grin indulgently at the person who kicked it off.

And yet here he is, grinning at Davey, wider and easier than Jack ever sees.

(He’s decided that he likes this version of Spot – he’s steadier, calmer, comfortable in who he is in a way that the Spot Jack’s used to seeing just isn’t. Jack can’t help but wonder if it’s a holdover from the tense, angry high schooler he’d been when they met.)

Except Jack _does_ see those grins now. Because this is Spot in his most natural environment with the people he loves the most, and Jack’s been let into the bubble.

Davey taps Jack’s arm. “Babe? You with us?”

“Hmm?” Jack tears his eyes away from his brother. Davey’s looking at him with a funny, thoughtful expression. “Yeah. What?”

“You, like, totally zoned out for a minute,” says Davey.

“Sorry,” says Jack. “Just feeling – I dunno. Feeling lucky.”

“Lucky?” Race repeats.

“Lucky to be here,” Jack elaborates. “Lucky you guys let me in.”

Race hums. Something he said before HCJKNDWHFC comes back to Jack, echoing through his head. _I’ve had my own big deals, Jackie._

Jack can tell, looking at Race right now, that Race knows where his head’s at.

He reaches for Jack’s hand across the table. “I think there’s been a spot for you with us for a long time, Jackie. You just had to find it.”

“Thanks, Racer,” says Jack. He glances at Les, who’s said similar things to Jack a few times before. Les nods, smiling.

Jack kicks his brother’s chair. “Hey, happy birthday, Sean.”

“Thanks, Jack,” says Spot. There’s some weight in the real name. There’s weight in all of this.

They sit in comfortable silence for a minute, and then there’s a _thunk_ and a cry from Frankie’s room and the moment passes.

\--

Leah is seven on February 12th. It’s a Wednesday.

They’re having the party with her friends the Sunday before, and the party with the family the Friday after, so David is scrambling to get the house picked up and ready for guests. And the house is just going to be decked out in streamers and decorations for the entire week, because David will be damned if he’s going to take everything down just to put it all back up four days later.

It’s chaotic, but also somewhat mindless. Streamers, balloons, pin-the-Pascal-on-Rapunzel (lovingly made for Leah by Jack) all have to find their places taped to walls and ceilings, kid foods have to be purchased and assembled, presents have to be wrapped and tucked away in closets.

It gives David time to think.

Leah’s birthday last year was the first time David looked at Jack and really saw another parent for Leah in him. Before that, as much as Jack felt like a good fit with them and at relative ease with Leah, he was still more of an outsider, a step away. But something clicked into place at the party, something about the ease with which Jack managed Leah, the tone his voice took on when he was being firm with her, the soft look in his eye as he helped her open presents.

David had a vision that day of what his future could be like with Jack – and for the first time the almost-loss of their near breakup had sunk in. Things were still fragile then, of course, and he didn’t tell Jack about it.

Today, though, David drops onto the couch next to his fiancé, dropping his head onto his shoulder while Leah collects the audience for movie night. “Happy one year of parenthood.”

“Technically I still ain’t a parent at all,” Jack replies. He kisses David’s hair. “What’cha thinkin’ about, Davey?”

“Last year at the family party,” David says. “You dad voiced Leah for the first time, and I just about died.”

Les snorts. He’s in the kitchen, making hot chocolate and assembling snacks, and apparently listening in on conversations.

David shoots him a look, but he shrugs, rolling his eyes. “Look, man, if you don’t want me to hear your mushy moments, stop having them in the living room.”

“The man has a point,” says Jack.

“I hate both of you,” David says casually. He snuggles a little closer to Jack anyway. “What I was trying to say is that, like, last year at the party was the first time you really felt like you could be Leah’s _dad_ and not just an adult in her life.”

“And how’re you feelin’ about that now?” Jack asks.

“Like you’re definitely Leah’s dad. Well, _Papa_ ,” says David. “And a pretty good one.” He tips his head back to look at Jack’s face. “We’re lucky we found you, Jackie.”

“I’m lucky I found you guys, too,” says Jack. “I can’t imagine my life without you in it.”

“And you don’t have to,” David replies. He holds his hand up, wiggling his fingers so the sapphire in his ring catches the light.

Jack laughs.

Leah runs back into the room. She tosses Franklin Bear onto Jack’s lap, then starts setting up the rest of the audience. Les comes around from the kitchen a moment later, tray of cookies and cocoa in hand.

David’s family is odd and mismatched and is, realistically, 58% parent and 14% uncle.

But it’s perfect. And David wouldn’t want it any other way.

\--

Tony turns 28 in February, two weeks after Leah turns 7.

This isn’t the only time of year so dense for birthdays – Jack’s and Frankie’s are within a week of each other in August with Kath’s just three weeks after, and obviously David and Sarah’s are the same day – but it’s both fun and slightly overwhelming to have the handful back-to-back. David can hardly complain, though, with Jack taking full opportunity of the birthdays to work on his cake decorating skills.

(Cake _baking_ is still left in the capable hands of Sean and Les.)

The kids are away from the table as soon as their cake is done, pausing only to bracket Tony, one on each side, and kiss him on the cheeks with happy birthday wishes before scurrying back toward Frankie’s room.

Tony watches them until they’re fully out of sight, then reaches for Sean’s hand where it’s resting on the table. “Hey, guys, Sean and I have something we want to talk to you about.”

David sits up a little straighter, his eyes on Sean. He has a sneaking feeling he knows what this is.

“Shoot,” says Jack, who’s leaning in a little with his elbows on the table.

Les sets down his fork.

“We’re going to have another kid,” Sean says simply. David smiles at him, which earns a small smile in return.

“It’s still really early days,” Tony adds. “We haven’t even decided if we’re adopting or we want a surrogate again, but – but we wanted you guys to know first.”

“Guys, that’s so great,” says Jack. “That’s – wow. I’m happy for you.”

“Still a ways away,” Sean says again. He takes a breath. “But thanks, Jackie.”

Tony and Sean both look at David, heads turning in near unison. He smiles – he hasn’t stopped since Sean first said the words. “Number three’s gonna be lucky to have you two as parents.”

“Three?” echoes Jack, his eyebrows raised.

“Leah,” Les says. “He’s counting Leah.”

“Right,” says Jack. He nods. “Yeah, okay, that makes sense.”

David laughs. “For real – I love you guys, you’re such amazing parents.”

“We love you, too,” Tony says, and David knows he’s speaking for both of them.

“When you have a plan, let us know,” Jack says. David’s got a warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest, because here again is Jack fitting seamlessly into his weird little family. “We’re here to support you.”

“A hundred percent,” agrees David. He puts a hand on Jack’s arm, a united front. “Anything you guys need, we gotcha.”

“And if you guys need eyes on Frankie while you’re doing adoption stuff or surrogate stuff or whatever,” Les says, tapping his fingertips on the table. “You know where I’m at.”

Sean gives the three of them a small, grateful smile. Tony’s is wider and more open. Their dynamic in a nutshell, David can’t help but think.

He’s almost sure there are tears in Sean’s eyes, but they’re all too considerate of Sean’s tough guy persona to point it out. There is so, so much love in this room right now David can barely handle it, and there isn’t even a kid to celebrate yet. They haven’t even started the process.

But they’ve made the decision, and David’s family is about to go back to being 50% dad in the best possible way. One more dad, one more kid.

David stands up. “Sean, is there more cake? I feel like this deserves cake.”

“My dude, there is absolutely more cake,” Sean says, grinning. David pats his shoulder as he walks by.

“Then we are having _more cake_ ,” David says. He pauses to hug Tony. “Happy birthday, Tones. Enjoy your double cake.”

“You know I will, Daves,” Tony replies. He tips his head so it rests against David’s before David straightens up to walk to the kitchen. “Hey, guys. Thanks.”

David meets Jack’s eye, then Les’s. It’s easy, easy, easy to speak for all three of them. “Of course, we love you.”

Frankie scurries out from his room, trailed closely by Leah. “Hey, Daddy! We made you a present!”

He presents a drawing, which David can see both kids’ handiwork all over. It’s a picture of the seven of them, a little clumsy but much more recognizable than it would’ve been a year ago. David’s not sure if his favorite part is the slightly wild spray of yellow crayon curlicues that makes up Frankie and Tony’s hair or the fact that they’re all holding hands, but either way it’s delightful.

Across the top, in Frankie’s careful first grade handwriting, is _we love you daddy_ with a big heart.

“I love you two, too,” says Tony. “I love all of you. Whole heart.”

“Whole heart!” Frankie echoes.

“Family hug!” Leah declares, throwing her arms around Tony. Frankie does the same almost immediately.

“You heard the kid,” Jack says to David, waving him back into the room. “Family hug.”

The two of them pile onto the hug with the kids and Tony, closely followed by Sean and Les. It’s less than comfortable, a seven person group hug piled around a dining room chair, but it's perfect.


	9. The Move

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! We've made it to the end of Bullseye!  
> There's more I'd like to do with this AU, most significantly a prequel set in their college years, a oneshot about Les finding out about Leah's mom, and something to do with number three, so keep your eyes peeled! 
> 
> Thank you to everybody who's stuck with this story! I've been really blessed to have some amazing support for this AU and I am so, so grateful.

Jack’s phone rings.

“Hey, Jack Kelly speaking.”

“Papa?”

“Leah!” Jack says, tucking his phone between his cheek and his shoulder. “Hey, baby girl, is everything okay?”

“Um, yeah,” Leah says, but her voice is shaky.

“Why are you calling me, sweetheart?” Jack asks gently. He mentally skims the family calendar – Davey has a meeting and Spot’s got detention duty, and today isn’t a dance day, but she’s calling from a number Jack didn’t recognize, so maybe she’s out with a friend. “Baby, are you okay?”

“Um, Papa, can you come pick me up from afterschool?” Afterschool, right, okay. Afterschool Jack can handle because he knows where school is; if she’d been at a friend’s house this might’ve been more complicated. Still, he’s worried.

Jack stands, scooping up his bag. “Leah, what’s wrong? Is Frankie with you?”

“Some’a the big kids were bein’ really mean while we were playin’,” Leah says. “An’ we were just ignorin’ them ‘cause that’s what Daddy always says to do.”

“Good girl,” Jack says absently. He’s still listening to her, but he taps Finch’s desk to get his attention. When the other photographer looks up, Jack points to his phone and mouths, _Leah. I’m leaving._

Finch nods, and gestures for Jack to get going. He doesn’t need telling twice.

“Only then one pushed Frankie off’a the climber and –“

“Baby, is Frankie hurt?”

“He scraped his hands,” Leah says. “One’a the teachers came over and gave him a bandaid and took the kid who pushed him away but the others kept botherin’ us until one’a the middle schoolers came’n scared’em off and she let me use her phone’ta call you because we just really wanna go home, can we go home, Jack?”

Leah sounds on the verge of tears.

“Yeah, Leah-beah,” Jack says. “Yeah, I’m comin’ now, okay? I’m gonna hang up so I can drive, but I’m comin’. Make sure you thank the big kid for her phone, okay? You and Frankie stick with her if you can. I love you.”

“I love you, too, Papa.”

He throws his bag onto the passenger seat, pausing to send a text before he starts driving.

_DAD SQUAD 2.0_

_Me: hey bee just called me_

_Me: said she and cesco were getting kicked around by bigger kids_

_Me: I’m gonna go pick them up just wanted you guys in the loop_

_Spotty boy: WHAT_

_Me: get off your phone you’re in detention. I’m handling it._

_Racetrack: keep us informed Jackie_

_Me: will do_

Jack tucks his phone away and makes his way to the school.

There’s one teacher outside with a walkie-talkie managing pickup, and Jack rolls down his window to talk to her. “Hey, I’m here for Francesco Higgins and Leah Jacobs. I have the little –“ he grabs the two pickup window tags from his dashboard to show the teacher he’s allowed to pick the kids up “- the thingies.”

The teacher studies them for a moment, then nods. “I’ll call in for them.”

She steps back from the car, speaking into her walkie-talkie. Less than two minutes later, the kids come running out.

Frankie has clearly been crying, his eyes puffy and red with tear streaks down his cheeks. Leah’s holding his hand and carrying his backpack in addition to her own, a determined set to her mouth.

The teacher helps the kids get into the car, and Jack turns to get them situated in their boosters.

“How we doin’, kiddos?” he asks, frowning. “Frankie, you okay?”

Frankie nods. “M’okay, Uncle Jack.”

“Leah?”

“I’m alright, Papa.”

They don’t speak much until they get home, where Jack lets them into the Jacobses’ apartment and settles both kids on the couch.

“Frankie, can I see your scrapes?” Jack asks. “I just wanna make sure they’re clean.”

Frankie holds his hands out to Jack, and Jack carefully peels the bandaids off of them. He can tell they were more the _bandaids fix everything to a little kid_ kind of fix than anything to actually heal the injury. Fortunately the scrape isn’t bad; the heels of his palms are red, but they’re just barely skinned in a few places.

“Do they hurt, buddy?” says Jack.

Frankie snuffles. “Not anymore.”

Jack gets up and grabs a washcloth, running a little bit of water over it before he comes back. He uses it to clean Frankie’s palms. “Good news, bud. It looks like we won’t have to cut off your hands.”

“ _Papa_ ,” Leah says, in an impressive seven-year-old imitation of her father’s favorite exasperated tone.

“He won’t!” Jack says. Frankie giggles. “In fact, I’m pretty sure all these need is a kiss better and you’ll be set to go.” He presses a gentle kiss to each of Frankie’s palms. “How ya doin’, Cesco?”

“Good,” says Frankie, pulling his hands back into his lap. Jack sends the boys a text.

_To: DAD SQUAD 2.0_

_@ daveys. Kids okay._

He tucks his phone back into his pocket, turning full attention back to the kids. “So what happened, guys? Your dads are gonna wanna know, especially since you got hurt, Cesco. Bee, you said some bigger kids were giving you trouble?”

Leah nods. She looks upset, but determined. “Just dumb stuff. We were talkin’ about dance class and they started makin’ fun’a Cesco for doin’ ballet. They said it’s girl stuff.” She rolls her eyes. “We know better though, so we ignored them.”

“Good girl,” Jack says. “How’d that end with Cesco gettin’ pushed?”

“They didn’t like that we were ignoring them,” Frankie says. Leah scoots a little closer to him and he leans on her without looking away from Jack. “So Max shoved me. A teacher came over and told him off and then – and then the other kids just went back to being mean.”

“Did you tell a grown up?” Jack asks. He knows what the answer will be; there aren’t a lot of adults managing after school, and the ones who are there are stretched thin and mostly college kids working through school.

Leah shakes her head. “Emily came and helped us out, though. She’s whose phone I used to call you.”

“Bigger big kid scared ‘em away?” Jack says.

Frankie nods. “Emmy’s in _seventh grade_.”

“I see,” says Jack. “Has this happened before? Big kids picking on you?”

Leah and Frankie look at each other, having a very Higgins-Conlon eyebrow conversation. Then Leah turns back toward Jack. “Not often.”

“But it has.” Jack puts one hand on his daughter’s shoulder, and one on his nephew’s. “Guys, you’ve gotta tell us when stuff like this happens, even if you don’t get hurt, okay? Or at least a teacher.”

“Leah called you,” Frankie says.

“I don’t want you waiting until one of you is on the ground crying to ask us for help,” Jack reiterates. “You said this has happened before – is it always the same kids? We can talk to the school about getting in touch with their parents.”

“Papa,” Leah says seriously. “We’re okay. I pinky promise we’re not getting bullied.”

“Yeah, Jack, we’re okay,” Frankie agrees.

“You’d tell us?”

“We’d tell you,” the kids reply in unison.

“Good.” Jack kisses Leah’s forehead, then Frankie’s. “What do you guys say we surprise your dads with something fun for dinner? You two feel up to helping with waffles?”

“Yeah!” says Leah.

Frankie grins. “Breakfast for dinner!”

“You two deserve a treat after today,” Jack says. “And if we start before the rest’a the dads get home they can’t change the plan.”

The kids giggle, and Jack gets up and goes to the kitchen. Both first graders follow behind him, like a pair of ducklings, and they’re getting out mixing bowls and the waffle iron when the front door lock clicks open.

They all look up.

“Oh, hey,” Les says as he comes in, dropping his backpack by the door. “You guys are home early.”

“It’s been a day,” says Jack. “You wanna help us make breakfast dinner?”

“Heck yeah,” Les says.

By the time Davey, Spot, and Race get home the four of them have put together a pretty impressive spread of waffles, fruit, and breakfast sausage. The timing’s just right for the seven of them to sit down to dinner as soon as the other dads get home.

\--

If Davey knows why Jack asked for a weekend of future dad-daughter bonding time with Leah in early April, he hasn’t said anything about it. One way or another, Jack has Leah outfitted in an old t-shirt of his that she’s practically swimming in overtop of the clothes Davey sent her in, and they’re camped out on the floor in Jack’s bedroom at his and Crutchie’s place.

“Do you think he’s going to like it?” Leah asks, looking down at their masterpiece.

“He’s going to love it,” says Jack. “Do _you_ like it, baby girl?”

“It’s so good,” Leah says. She sits down in Jack’s lap, where he’s sitting cross-legged with his back against the side of the bed. Her head falls against Jack’s chest and she tips it back to look up at him. “Papa, it’s so good. How’d we do that?”

Jack laughs. “We worked really hard on it, that’s how.”

It’s a small painting in acrylics, with a sketch by Jack and most of the painting done by Leah with some guidance. It’s of their family, at Leah’s insistence – Jack usually tends to favor landscapes over portraits. Jack is next to David on the couch, with Leah on David’s lap and Les on his other side. It’s sweet and smudgy and impressionistic in a not entirely intentional way and _Jack_ loves it, so he knows Davey’s gonna, like, burst into tears.

“Thanks for helping me,” Leah says.

Jack kisses her hair. “I think it’s really _you_ helping _me_. Or maybe a team effort.”

“Team effort,” agrees Leah. She pats his cheek. “You’re a good dad, Jack.”

“You think so, baby?” Jack replies. There’s a prickle in his eyes that he is _not_ going to let turn into tears.

“Mhm,” says Leah, and that’s that.

(Jack sneaks into the apartment early on the morning of the 17th, props their painting up against a glass on the counter facing Davey’s bedroom door, and waits. Davey loves it, but was that ever in doubt?)

\--

Jack and Charlie’s lease ends in early May.

Charlie has a new place lined up, a little smaller with just one bedroom. He and Jack have both been more than able to afford their own apartments for a while, but they haven’t had a reason _not_ to live together until now. Most of the furniture is moving with Charlie, because god knows Jack and David don’t need another couch.

(Because Jack is moving in with David and Leah and Les.)

David’s been getting ready for Jack and Charlie’s moving day for three weeks. There’s been a lot of arranging and rearranging of closets and dressers, and of all of the furniture in David’s bedroom. The bed’s been moved away from the wall just far enough for Jack’s bedside table, the bookshelf was stripped of books, moved to the living room, and restocked, so now there’s a space waiting for Jack’s dresser. A corner of the living-dining room has been set aside for Jack’s art space, since there isn’t quite enough room in the bedroom.

The day of the move, Leah is deposited in the Higgins-Conlon living room with Frankie and Tony. Tony’s got the kids for the morning, then he’ll take them to the studio for their afternoon dance class, which happens to be the only timeslot today that _he_ has a class. Sean, Les, and David all make their way to Jack and Charlie’s, in two cars so as to have as much space as possible to help with the move.

Sean and David both drive seven passenger cars, so it’s no small addition of space, especially when you consider that Jack and Charlie both drive sedans.

A few hours and a fair amount of frustration later, most of the furniture and all of Charlie’s boxes have been moved into Charlie’s new apartment. The rest of the furniture has been donated or sold, or tucked into cars and brought to David’s place.

David and _Jack’s_ , he reminds himself with a fluttering heart.

There are boxes all over the house. Jack doesn’t have a _lot_ of stuff, all told, but somehow things like that always seem to multiply exponentially as you’re trying to consolidate it enough to move it from one place to another. The bedroom, in particular, is a minefield.

David is alone, because Sean and Les are picking up pizza and Charlie and Jack are having a complicated moment outside by Charlie’s car. He looks around. There’s already a lot of Jack around the apartment, there has been for a long time, but now there’s an easel propped against the bookcase and boxes in every room and this is all very real –

This is all _very_ real.

Not that it wasn’t real before, it’s always been real. It’s been real since Leah called Jack Papa for the first time, since Jack proposed, since Leah’s last birthday, since David told Jack about Kate.

It’s almost painfully real now, though.

David sits on the couch, pulling one leg up to his chest. This is _it_. This is the future he’s been thinking about right on the cusp of beginning. Sure, he and Jack aren’t married yet – they won’t be, not for a while, because planning a wedding takes _time_ – but that matters a lot less when the practical reality is that Jack will be living with him, helping him raise Leah, completely intertwined with his life.

It seems almost unbelievable to realize how close David came to missing this.

There were so many chances for the two of them to meet that never happened, going all the way back to college. But David’s sure if they’d met almost any other time, it wouldn’t have brought them here. They could’ve met when they were in college, still seeing the girls. They could’ve met when Kate was still an open, bleeding wound in David’s chest.

They could’ve met through one of Jack’s many exes – or even through Sean – and anxiety and distrust could’ve shut things down before they got started.

But they didn’t – they near missed until it was exactly the right time and then _bam_. Direct hit.

Bullseye.

And here’s Jack in David’s life for the rest of it. It’s slightly overwhelming, but in the best possible way.

The door opens and David looks up, meeting Jack’s eye as he comes in. “Charlie coming up?”

“He’s running back to his place for a bit, but he’ll be back for dinner,” says Jack, shaking his head.

“You two doing okay?” David asks. Jack and Charlie have lived together since they were college freshmen, and he knows there’s a lot of mixed emotion about separating. They’re excited to be starting a new stage in life, and David knows Charlie is really genuinely happy for Jack finding a more stable, permanent love, but they’re going to miss each other.

Charlie’s new place is four blocks away from David’s building, but they’re going to miss each other.

Jack drops onto the couch next to David. “Yeah, we’re okay. It feels weird, y’know, but like. Good weird.”

“Good,” says David. He leans over to kiss Jack. “Hey, Jackie.”

“What?”

“You live here.”

Jack kisses him again. “Oh my god, I live here.”

“One more thing,” says David.

“Hmm?”

David leans forward again, this time just resting his forehead against Jack’s. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Davey,” Jack says.

They stay like that, quiet, until the door bursts open. Leah dives for them on the couch, knocking them back against the cushions. Tony follows her in, carrying Frankie on his hip.

“Hey, guys, how was moving?” Tony asks.

“Successful,” David replies, shrugging. “Everything’s found its way to the right places, and now we’re just waiting on pizza.”

Leah and Frankie cheer for pizza, and run off to Leah’s room to play until Les and Sean get home.

It’s not long before the others get back, Charlie on their heels, and the eight of them have a slightly chaotic celebratory dinner.

Later that night, David and Jack get ready for bed together. Nothing they haven’t done before, only now Jack’s in his own pajamas and using his real toothbrush instead of the travel one that he used to keep here. They crawl into bed without having to worry about who’s pinned against the wall, pull the covers over themselves, and curl up wrapped around each other.

Jack’s looking up at the ceiling, his cheek pressed to David’s forehead. “Wow.”

“Wow what?” David asks.

Jack’s arm tightens around David’s shoulders. “This isn’t a dream. I met you, I love you, I live with you.” He kisses David’s face. “One’a these days, I get to marry you.”

David’s breath catches. All laid out like that, it really is something special. They’re living in that fantasy future of David’s for real now. Maybe it won’t be perfect, but it’s _real_ and it’s _theirs_. “Wow.”


End file.
